Pl.ex.mon. 4. SALICINiE. 7. Populus. 24^ 
b. Turions smooth , laid; stamens 12 to 16. ASgirus. 
4. Populus nigra . Black poplar . 
Leaves deltoid, pointed, serrate, both sides smooth ; pe~ 
dole short; branches patulous. 
Populus nigra, Raii Syn. 446, 1 ; Ger. em. 1486; Lin. S. P. 1464. 
Watery places; tree; March. 
Tree tall, smooth; leaves dark green; petiole half as 
long as the leaves; aments smooth. 
Fam.V. 5. BETULIDEiE. 
Flowers monoicous, amentaceous. — Male, Perigonium 
none, or 4-cut; stamens 4 or 12, inserted on the scales of 
the ament ; anthers 2-celled. — Female, Perigonium 0 ; 
ovary free, 2-celled ; stigmata 2 to 4, terminal ; nucula P 1 
or 2-celled, in the scales of a cone ; perisperm 0 ; corculum 
straight, flat; radicle above. — Tree or shrub; leaves alter- 
nate, annual, when young having 2 stipules at the base. 
Stamens 12; nucula P edged Betula. 8. 
Stamens 4 ; nucula P ovate, naked Alnus. 9. 
I. 8. BETULA. Pliny. Birch . 
Ament long, cylindrical. — Male. Scales in threes ; middle 
scale stamen-bearing; perigonium 0; stamens 12. — Female. 
Scales deciduous, 3-lobed at the tip, 2 or 3-flowered at 
the base; styles 2 ; ovary compressed, 2-celled, 1 abortive; 
nucula heartshape, with a membranaceous edge. 
1. Betula alba . White birch . 
Leaves deltoid, acute, doubly serrate, smooth; lateral 
lobes of the scales of the cone rounded. 
Betula, Raii Syn. 443 ; Ger. em. 1478. 
Betula alba, Lin. S. P. 1393. 
Woods and hedges; tree; April and May. 
Bark white, epidermis peeling off; leaves petiolate, be- 
neath pubescent; cone peduncled, drooping; scales cylin- 
drical; twigs and buds blackish. — Bark used anciently for 
writing on ; leaves applied outwardly and taken internally 
in dropsy, and other diseases, also used to dye yellow; 
twigs used for brooms, and for correcting children, on ac- 
count of their toughness ; juice obtained by piercing the 
teree under a large arm, nearly through to the bark on the 
u 2 
