622 



CVI. BETULACJEJl 



[Betida 



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

 a perianth of 2-4 leaves, anther-oells ^\ithout tufts of hairs. Ovary without perianth- 



Anther-cells distinct, scales ot ? 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 \\ ith a tuft of 

 hairs. A thin perianth adnate to ovary. 



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

 reticulate bracts 3. Cakpinus, 



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

 spinescent involucre 4. Coeilus. 



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



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

 Stamens 4~G, inserted on the stalk or on tbe inside of tbe bract and more 

 or less distinctly arranged into diandrous fl., eacli 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. 9 fl. in dense cylin- 

 dric spikes, 3 ovaries in the 

 axil of a deciduous bract, 

 which usually is 3-iid. Nuts 

 winged. Species 24, Northern 

 hemisphere. 



1. B, utilis, Don. — Syn. 

 B, Bhojpattra^ Wall. ; B. 

 Jacquemontii^ Spachin Jac- 

 qiiemont Voy. Bot. t. 158. 

 Vern. Bhiij^ BicrJ^ Bhuj 

 pattrcij N. -West Himal. ; 

 Shdkjpadj Kunawar ; Bhiija 

 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. 

 Fia. 191.— Betula utilis, Don. I. L. ovate, acuminate, un- 



equally sen-ate, slightly hairy 

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

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

 pubescent, 34obed down to the base. Nuts with a narrow wing, bracts in fr. 

 coriaceous, deeply 8-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.y 

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

 asaoeiated with Rhododendron ccimpamdaftim^ and with an underwood of Mliododendron 

 Anfhopogon, — Mountains of China and Japan. The outer bark is used as i>aper for 

 writing and packing, for u.mbrella covers and for the roofing of houses. 2. B. alnoides^ 

 Ham. — Syn. B, acuminata^ Wall. PL As. Bax\ t. 109; Brandis P. PL t. 56; B. mtida, 

 Bon; B. cylindroHtachyB^ "Wall. Yern. Sheori, Bash.; Kafh hh{j\ Jauns, ; Sauer^ 

 Garhw., ISFepal. Himalaya from the Sutlej eastwards, 5-10,000 ft. Khasi hillb. 

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

 patches. — China. A moderate-sized ti-ee, 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. 3j. ovate to oyate- 

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



