EIECH FAMIl.T. 



327 



4. B. len'ta, L. Leaves cordafe- 

 oblong, acuminate, sharply serrate, 

 hairy on the yeins beneath ; scales of 

 the pistillate aments roughish-pubes- 

 cent, — the lobes ovate-lanceolate, 

 rather acute, prominently veined. 

 Soft oe PLIA^"T Betula. Sweet 

 Birch. Cherry Birch. 



Stem 80 -CO feet high, fiiKl 1-2 f.-ct in 

 diameter ; branches numerous, slender, pli- 

 able, smooth and dotted Aviih small \rliite 

 scars. Leaves 3-4 inches long, tbinnish, 

 varying from ovate oblong to obovate. mostly 

 somewhat cordate, and often a little nnequal 

 at base — the upper surface sprinkled vrlth 

 long hairs — the margin and nerves beneath 

 hairy: petioles about half an inch long, pilose. 

 Scaminate aments 2, -^mches lonsr. larger than 

 in the preceding species. Pistillate aments 

 about an inch long, and two-thirds of an inch 

 in diameter; scales 8-cleft nearly hr.lf their 

 length — the lobes prominently keeled and 

 nerved, hirsutely ciliate. ITut compressed, 

 elliptic-obovate, acute at each end. -with a 

 membranaceous margin -which is broader toward.i the summit, and somewhat ciliate, btit 

 everywhere narrower than in the preceding. 



Mountain forests : throughout the United States. Fl. April. Fr. August. 



Ols. The wood of this species is colored reddish, — something like that 

 of the "Wild Cherry {Cerasus serotiaa, DC.) ; and it is used, like that, in 

 making cabinet-ware, bedsteads, kc. The bark and young twigs are 

 pleasantly aromatic, — and were formerly employed in domestic brewings, 

 diet-drinks, &c. The Tellow Birch (B. excel'sa, Ait.), which is com- 

 mon northward, belongs in this group ; it is readily distinguished by its 

 yellowish silvery or pearly bark. 



2. AL'XUS, TGurnef. ALDtr.. 



[The Latin name for the Alder?^ 



Sta^tixate ame:nts somewhat clustered, cylindric, drooping, with the 

 miles peltate, 5-bracteolate beneath, 1 - S-iiowered. C'«/?/-.7; 4-parted. 

 Stamens i, inserted at the base of the calyx-lobes, and opposite them • 

 anthers 2-cellcd. Pistillate ame^sTS with the scales imbricated, fleshy. 

 2-flowered. Calyx of 4 scale-like sepals, adhering to the base of the 

 bracts, all persistent and becoming woody in fruit. Ovaries 2 under 

 each scale, sessile, 2-celled ; ovules solitary, pendulous ; stigmas 2, fili- 

 form. JVuts angular, sometimes winged. 



1. A., sermla'ta, TTlUd. Leaves obovate, sub-acuminate, doubly-ser- 

 rul itc, smooth and green on both sides ; stipules oval, obtuse. 



Tig. 22T. The Sweet or Cherry Birch (Bctula lenta). 



