194 



The Mora of Wiltshire. 



<' Aldcrbury," Mr. James Hussey. A very local plant, and at present 

 confined to the South-eastern extremity of the county. Stem upright, 

 bushy, 3 or 4 feet high. Leaves alternate on short stalks, obovate- 

 lanceolate, green and smooth on both sides, covered with resinous 

 dots, which emit a delightful fragrance when bruised.. Catkins 

 numerous, sessile, erect. Berries very small. 



Betula, (Linn.) Birch. 

 Linn. CI. xxi. Ord. vii. 

 Name. Derived from betu, the Celtic name for the birch (beath 

 in Gaelic.) 



1. B. alba, (Linn.) white or common Birch. Engl. Bot. £.2198. 



B. glutinosa, Fries. 



Locality. In woods, especially in moist heathy situations, fre- 

 quently cultivated. Tree Fl. April, May, before the leaves are Jully 

 out. Area, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In all the Districts, but by no means 

 generally distributed. 1 One of the most hardy of trees, conspicuous 

 in plantations for its white scaly cuticle, and when old, for the deep 

 black clefts of its bark. Branches sub-divided, long, slender, pliant, 

 and flexible, covered, when young, with a short, close down. Leaves 

 alternate, egg-shaped, or slightly triangular, pointed, unequally or 

 rather doubly serrated, smooth above, a little downy beneath ; 

 assuming a golden colour in autumn. Catkins terminal, stalked, 

 pendulous ; the barren flowered ones appear in the autumn at the 

 ends of the twigs, but do not expand their flowers till the fertile 

 ones appear in the Spring, these when ripe fall all to pieces, and 

 scatter the numerous winged seeds. As an ornamental tree in land- 

 scape gardening, the Birch is one of the most beautiful we possess, 

 exhibiting a grace and elegance in its form and foliage, that, if 

 equalled, is not surpassed by any other of our indigenous trees, being, 

 as Coleridge expresses it : — 



" Most beautiful 

 Of forest trees, the Lady of the Woods." 



1<( Birch, — wee have none in North Wilts, but some (no great plenty) in 

 South Wilts; most by the New Forest. (In the parish of Market Lavington is 

 a pretty large coppice, which consists for the most part of birch ; and from 

 thence it is well known by the name of Birchen Coppice." — Bishop Tanner,) 

 Aubrey, Nat. Hist. Wilts. 



