180 Fernald— Relationships of some American 
American species quickly distinguished by its comparatively 
low stature and southern range, its chalky white or gray-flecked 
close and scarcely defoliating bark, its glossy extremely cau- 
date-attenuate deltoid leaves, its compact grayish brown fruit- 
ing strobiles averaging 3°" long and 6™™ thick, and the samara 
rarely 3°5™™ broad. ak recently, however, three trees have 
been described from northwestern America as unique American 
species: Betula kenaica, W. H. Evans,* from Alaska; &. 
alaskana, Sargent,+ from Saskatchewan and Alaska; and B. 
fontinalis, Sargent,+ the Rocky Mountain half-shrub which has 
there passed as B. occidentalis. 
The writer has not seen the original material of B. kenaica, 
but a large suite of specimens collected by Messrs. Coville and 
Kearney in the type region, on the Harriman Alaska Expedi- 
tion, has been placed in his hands by Mr. Coville. This series 
of 15 sheets in the United States National Herbarium is sup- 
plemented by very important notes by Mr. Coville on the color 
of the bark, ete. 
The first specimens cited by Professor Sargent for his Betula 
alaskana are one of Bourgean’s collected on the Saskatchewan 
uous resinous glands,” so that little stress should be laid upo? 
this character. : 
A comparison of the original descriptions of Betula kenavcd 
and B. alaskana shows no point by which they can be sep- 
_ * Bot. Gaz. xxvii, 481 (1899), + Bot. Gaz, xxxi, 236, 239 (1901). 
