.3 26 .) 
Ii E'TU LA * *. 
Linnean Class and Order. MoNffl'ciA f, Polya'ndria. 
Natural Order. Betuli'ne,e, Rich, by Macgilliv. p. 544. — 
Lindl. Intr. to Nat. Syst. p.93. — Amenta'ce.e, Linn. — Juss.Gen. 
1 * 1 . p. 407. — Sm. Gr. of Bot. p. 189. — Lindl. Syn. p.228. — Loud. 
Ilort. Brit, p.534. — Mack. FI. Hibcrn. p.2 42. — Hook. Brit. FI. 
(4th ed.) p. 419. — Querneales ; type, Betulacea: ; Burn. Outl. 
of Bot. v. ii pp. 523 & 529. 
Gen. Ch\r. Barren Floivers (figs. 1 & 3.) numerous, forming 
a loose, cylindrical catkin (fig. 1.), imbricated all round, with ter- 
nate, concave scales (see fig. 3.) ; the middle one largest, egg- 
shaped. Corolla none. Filaments 10 to 12, shorter than the 
middle scale, to which they are attached. Anthers roundish, 
2- lobed. Fertile Flowers (figs. 2 & 5.) in similar, but more dense, 
catkins ; scales horizontal, peltate, dilated outwards, 3-lobed, 
3- flowered (see fig. 5). Corolla none. Germen (see fig. 5.) com- 
pressed, bordered, of 2 cells. Styles 2, awl-shaped, downy. Stigma 
simple. Nut (see figs. 6 & 7.) oblong, deciduous, winged at each 
side, of 1 cell, with a solitary kernel. 
The ternate scales of the barren flowered catkins, destitute of a 
corolla , and bearing, on their middle lobe, from 10 to 12 stamens ; 
the 3-lobed, 3-flowered scales of the fertile flowered catkin ; the 
2 styles; and the winged, deciduous, 1-seeded nut; will distinguish 
this from other genera in the same class and order. 
Two species British. 
BE'TULA ALBA. White Birch. Common Birch. 
Spec. Char. Leaves egg-shaped, acute, somewhat deltoid, 
unequally serrated, nearly smooth. 
E.igl. Hot. t. 2108.— Ft. Dan. t. 1167.— Linn. Sp. PI. p. 1393.— Iluds. FI. Angl. 
(2mled. ) p. 416. — Evelyn’s Silva, p 225, with a plate. — Willd. Sp. PI. v. iv. pt. f. 
p. 462. — Sm. FI. Brit. v. iii. p. 1012. ; Engl. Fl. v. iv. p. 153. — With. (7th edit.) 
v. ii. p. 246. — Gray’s Nat. Arr. v. ii. p. 243. — Lindl. Syn. p. 229. — Hook. Brit. 
Fl. p. 409. — Macr. Man. Brit. Bot. p. 208. — Lightf. Fl. Scot. v. ii. p. 572. — Sibth. 
Fl. Oxon. p. 64. — Abbot’s Fl. Bedf. p. 207. — Davies’ Welsh Bot. p. 89. — Purt. 
Midi. Fl. v. ii. p. 455. — Relh. Fl. Cant. (3rded. ) p. 390. — Hook. Fl. Scot, p.274. — 
Phill. Sjd. Florif. v. i. p. 123. — Grev. Fl. Edin. p. 203. — Syl. Sket. p. 45. — Loud. 
Arb. et Frutie. Brit. p. 1691. f. 1547. — Fl. Devon, pp. 155 & 135. — Johnst. Fl. 
Berw. v. i. p. 208 — Winch’s Fl. of Northumb. and Durh. p. 62. — Walker’s Fl. of 
Oxf. p. 283. — Bab. Fl. Bath. p. 46. — Dick. Fl. Abr. p. 56. — Irv. Lond. Fl. p. 115. 
— Luxf. lteig. Fl. p. 82. — Mack. Catal. PI. Irel. Addenda; Fl. Ilibern. p. 242. — 
Betula , Bay’s Syn. p. 443. — Johnson’s Gerarde, p. 1478, 
Localities. — I n woods and hedges, especially in heathy soils and in mouutain- 
ous countries. 
Tree. — Flowers in April and May. 
From 20 to 50 feet, or more, high, with the cuticle of the trunk 
whitish, and peeling off in thin laminae. Branches subdivided. 
Fig. 1. A Barron-flowered Catkin. — Fig. 2. A Fertile- flowered one. — Figs. 3 
and 4. Barren Flowers. — Fig. 5. A Fertile Flower. — Figs. 6 and 7. Seeds. — 
Figs. 5 and 7, a little magnified. 
* From belli, the Celtic name for the Birch. It is the badge of the Highland 
Clan Buchanan. f See folio 83, note f. 
