622 CVI. BETULACEtE [Betula 



A. Stamens 4-12 on each bract, more or less distinctly arranged in 3 fl., each with 

 a perianth of 2-4 leaves, anther-cells without tufts of hairs. Ovary without perianth. 



Anther-cells distinct, scales of $ spikes thin, deciduous . . 1. Betula. 

 Anther-cells distinct or connate, scales of °. spikes persistent, 



woody in fr 2. Alnus. 



B. One 3-6-androus fl. on each bract without perianth, anther-cells with a tuft of 

 hairs. A thin perianth adnate to ovary. 



Fr. small in drooping spikes, in the axil of large membranous 



reticulate bracts 3. Carpinus. 



Fr. a large nut enclosed in a thick, cut and lobed, sometimes 



spinescent involucre 4. Cokylus. 



1. BETULA, Tourn. ; Fl. Brit. Ind. v. 599. 



Pith oblong, often lobed, med. rays all narrow, of 1-4 rows of cells. 

 Stamens 4-6, inserted on the stalk or on the inside of the bract and more 

 or less distinctly arranged into diandrous fl., each with 2 or 4 perianth leaves, 

 one of which is much larger than the others. Anthers on very short filaments, 



the 2 cells distinct to the 

 base. ? fl. in dense cylin- 

 dric spikes, 3 ovaries in the 

 axil of a deciduous bract, 

 which usually is 3-fid. Nuts 

 winged. Species 24, Northern 

 hemisphere. 



1. B. utilis, Don. — Syn. 

 B. Bhojpattra, Wall. ; B. 

 Jacquemontli, Spachin Jae- 

 quemont Voy. Bot. t. 158. 

 Vern. Bhuj, Burj, Bhuj 

 • pattrd, N. - West Himal. ; 

 S7iak,pad, Kunawar ; Bhuja 

 pat, Nep. 



A moderate-sized tree, at- 

 taining at times 60 ft., a 

 shrub near its upper limit, 

 bark smooth, with white hori- 

 zontal lenticels, the outer 

 bark consisting of numerous 

 thin papery layers, exfoliat- 

 ing in broad horizontal rolls, 

 youngest shoots pubescent. 

 L. ovate, acuminate, un- 

 equally serrate, slightly hairy 

 along midrib and nerves, blade 2-3, pet. h in. long. Bracts of $ fl. nearly 

 glabrous, anther-cells with a few hairs at the tip. $ spikes solitary, bracts 

 pubescent, 3-lobed down to the base. Nuts with a narrow wing, bracts in fr. 

 coriaceous, deeply 3-lobed, broader than the wings of the nut. 



Kuram valley, 10-11,000 ft. Himalaya, 10-14,000, in the Punjab as low as 7,000 ft., 

 also in the inner arid region. Often gregarious at the tipper limit of tree vegetation, 

 associated with Rhododendron campanul atum, and with an underwood of Rhododendron 

 Anthopogon, — Mountains of China and Japan. The outer bark is used as paper for 

 writing and packing, for umbrella covers and for the roofing of houses. 2. B. alnoides, 

 Ham. — Syn. B. acuminata, Wall. PL As. Ear. t. 109; Brandis P. PI. t. 56 ; B. nitida, 

 Don ; B. cyhndrostachys, Wall. Vern. Sheori, Bash. ; Kath bhuj, Jauns. ; Sauer, 

 Garhw., Nepal. Himalaya from the Sutlej eastwards, 5-10,000 ft. Khasi hills. 

 Manipur. Hills of Upper and Lower Burma above 5,000 ft. At times gregarious in 

 patches. — China. A moderate-sized tree, wood grey, the outer bark peels off in thick 

 rolls, the lenticels shorter than in 1, branchlets and underside of young 1. softly 

 pubescent, root-suckers and luxuriant shoots densely tomentose. L. ovate to ovate- 

 lanceolate, serrate, teeth cuspidate, often aristate. Bracts of i catkins pubescent, 



Fig. 191.— Betula utilis, Don. 



