Betula. 



BETULACEJD. 



201 



5. Betula nigra, Linn. Red Birch. 



Leaves rhomboidal-ovate, not acuminate, doubly serrate with the primary serratures coarse 

 and angular, pubescent underneath, entire at the base ; fertile arnents ovoid-oblong, on short 

 peduncles, erect ; the bracts villous, with short oblong somewhat equal lobes. — Linn. sp. 

 (ed. 2.) 2. p. 1394 ; Pursh, ft. 2. p. 621 ; Ell. sk. 2. p. 616 ; Torr. compend. p. 355 ; 

 Beck, bot p. 325 ; Barlingt.fi. Cest. p. 539. B. lanulosa, Michx.fl. 2. p. 181. B. rubra, 

 Michx. f. sylv. 1. t. 72. B. angulata, Lodd. bot. cab. t. 1248. 



A tree 40 - 70 feet high and 1-2^ feet in diameter, with long slender and pendulous 

 branches ; the epidermis of the smaller trunks of a reddish brown color, splitting (but not 

 readily) into thin layers. Leaves about 3 inches long and 2 wide, often obtusely cuneate at 

 the base, coarsely and somewhat angularly toothed, with the teeth serrated, light green above, 

 pale underneath ; the short petioles (and also the younger twigs) pubescent. Fertile aments 

 about three-fourths of an inch long. Bracts cuneate at the base, pubescent, 3-lobed halfway 

 to the base. Nut ovate, with a very broad thin winged margin. 



Low grounds, particularly along rivers. Saugerties (Mr. J. Carey). Fl. April. Fr. June. 

 A common species in New-Jersey, where it often attains a large size. The fruit of this 

 species ripens earlier than that of any other of our Birches. The wood is light-colored and 

 compact. The twigs are used for making birch brooms. 



6. Betula nana, Linn. (Plate CXIV.) Dwarf Birch. 



Dwarfish ; branches often covered with resinous dots ; leaves nearly orbicular, coarsely 

 toothed, smooth ; fertile aments oblong, on short erect peduncles ; bracts deeply 3-cleft , the 

 lobes oblong-obovate, nearly equal. — Linn. sp. (ed. 2.) 2. p. 1346 ; Engl. bot. t. 349 ; Michx. 

 ft. 2. p. 180?; Pursh, fl. 2. p. 622 ; Bigel. fl. Bost. p. 356 ; Torr. compend. p. 256 ; Beck, 

 bot. p. 326 ; Hook. fl. Bor.-Am. 2. p. 157 ; Tuckerman in Sill, jour n. 45. p. 31. 



A shrub from one to two feet high, branching. Leaves from four lines to three-fourths of 

 an inch in length, and nearly as broad as long, on very short petioles. Fertile aments less 

 than half an inch long. Bracts somewhat veined underneath. Fruit broadly ovate, with a 

 distinct and rather broad winged margin. 



High mountains of Essex county. Fr. August. This dwarf species is also found on the 

 White Hills, and about Hudson's Bay. It seems to be identical with the European plant. 

 Spach, on account of the nearly wingless fruit, considers Michaux's B. nana as a distinct 

 species, to which (/. c. p. 195) he has given the name of B. Michauxii. I find, however, 

 the wing to vary in breadth, even in my European specimens. 



Pursh states that the B. pumila grows in the high mountains of New-York and Pennsylvania, 

 but I have seen no specimens collected within our limits. B. glandulosa seems to differ from 

 it only in the glandularly dotted branches, a character which is probably not constant. 

 [Flora— -Vol. 2.] 26 



