8 4 
BETULA 
Exsiccata : — Fellmann, 208, as B. tortuosa var. kusmischeffii ; Herb. Marshall, 420, 421, 423, 425, 426, 427 
[some of these were named var. carpatica and others var. parvifolia by Professor J. Lange]. 
Low tree or shrub. Branches tortuous. Petioles about half as long as the laminae. Laminae 
subrotund or rhomboid-ovate, margin deeply but simply or doubly dentate. Lateral lobes of the 
bracts erect. Achene about as wide as the wings. 
Hilly districts in Scotland usually between 500 and 700 m., especially on the banks of sub-Alpine streams ; 
Cheviot (near Dunsdale), Argyllshire (northern side of Clach Leathad, near Kingshouse), Forfarshire (Glen Fiagh, 
Clova), Aberdeenshire, Perthshire (Ben More), western Inverness-shire (Stob Ban, Glen Nevis). 
Iceland, Scandinavia, mountains of central Europe and Asia ; Greenland, and doubtless elsewhere. 
(d) B. pubescens var. microphylla E. S. Marshall in Moss Canib. Brit. FI. ii, 84 ; B. alba var. microphylla 
Hartman Hatidb. Skand. FI. 341 (1820); B. alba subsp. pubescens var. parvifolia Regel in DC. Prodr. xvi, pt. ii, 167 
(1868) partim ; B. odorata var. parvifolia Lange Haandb. Danske FI. 241 (1886) partim ; B. pubescens race vulgaris 
var. eu-pubescens subvar. parvifolia Ascherson und Graebner Syn. iv, 400 (1910). 
leones: — Reichenbach Icon, xii, t. 624, fig. 1284, as B. carpatica \ FI. Dan. t. 2917, as B. odorata var. par- 
vifolia. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate 86. ( h ) Fruiting bracts (enlarged). (1) Winged achenes (enlarged). 
Exsiccata: — Herb. FI. Ingric. x, 583b, as B. intermedia ; herb. Marshall, 3383. 
Small tree, growing under very favourable circumstances to a height of about 12 — 15 m., of 
very graceful habit, sometimes pendulous, often remaining shrubby. Bark brown and shining, not 
flaked with white, that of the young branches not so dark as in var. carpatica. Petioles relatively 
shorter than in var. vestita. Laminae subrotund to oval or rhomboidal, much smaller (i’5 — 3’o cm. 
long and 1 — 2 broad) than in any of the preceding varieties, less hairy, with small brown circular 
glands on the lower surface. Fruiting catkins suberect, stout, short (1*5 — 2'o cm, long), and about 
twice as long as the peduncles. Achene as in var. vestita. Lateral lobes of the bracts ascending. 
Some forms of this variety show a strong resemblance to x B. intermedia (p. 85). 
Rare in England and Wales (Carnarvonshire, Shropshire, Derbyshire, West Riding of Yorkshire); locally 
abundant in Scotland (Argyllshire, Forfarshire, Perthshire, Inverness-shire, Sutherlandshire, Caithness-shire, Orkney). 
It is impossible to state its distribution abroad with any approach to accuracy ; but it occurs in northern 
Europe and among the mountains of central Europe. 
(e) B. pubescens var. sudetica E. S. Marshall in Moss Camb. Brit. FI. ii, 84 ; B. carpatica var. sudetica 
Reichenbach Icon, xii, 2 (1850); B. alba subsp. pubescens var. parvifolia Regel in DC. Prodr. xvi, pt. ii, 167 (1868) 
partim; B. odorata var. parvifolia Lange Haandb. Danske FI. 241 (1886) partim; B. verrucosa var. oycowiensis 
Winkler in Pflanzenr. iv, pt. 61, 77 (1904) partim. 
leones : — Reichenbach Icon, xii, t. 624, fig. 1285, as B. carpatica var. sudetica. 
Camb. Brit. FI. ii. Plate 86. (j) Fruiting bracts (enlarged), (k) Winged achenes (enlarged). 
Exsiccata : — Herb. Marshall, 361, 3564, 3565. 
Shrub. Laminae narrowly rhomboidal, cuneate at the base, serrate, acute to acuminate, rather 
longer and narrower than in var. microphylla. Lateral lobes of the bract ascending. Achene much 
broader than the wings. 
I think Winkler (loc. cit.) errs in referring this plant to B. alba (= B. verrucosa ), although the acute to acuminate 
laminae afford a certain amount of justification for his view. This var. sudetica and the var. microphylla together are almost 
sufficiently distinct from the other forms of B. pubescens to justify their being regarded as a separate species. 
Apparently rare, in hilly and sub- Alpine localities, from about 120 to 600 m.; Derbyshire (leg. C. Bailey, 
1884, as B. verrucosa ;), Inverness-shire (ascent of Stof Ban from Glen Nevis; Allt a’ Choire Dheirg, Glen Nevis; 
Allt an t’ Sluie, near Dalwhinnie) ; Sutherlandshire (foot of Ben Laoghal). 
Sweden (Lindberg, in Herb. Univ. Cantab, as B. carpatica ), central Europe (Reichenbach loc. cit.) and doubtless 
elsewhere. 
B. pubescens occurs throughout the British Isles, from Cornwall and Kent northwards to Orkney, 
ascending to 760 m. in the Highlands. It is common in most, parts of the British Isles, except 
on clayey and calcareous soils on which it is local. In the south and east of England it is 
very abundant in woods and heaths with dry sandy or gravelly soils. In these situations, it 
exists in company with B. alba and with the hybrids B. alba x pubescens. Locally abundant on 
fens and lowland peat-moors, but absent from mountain moors. On the higher hills of the western 
and northern parts of Great Britain, the species ascends much higher than the oak ( Quercus 
sessilifiora ), and forms a more or less definite zone of birch woods above the oak woods. On 
