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B E TU LA alba.
Common Birch.
6 /
MONOECIA Tetrandria.
G e n . C h a r . Male, Cal. scale of a catkin, of 1 leaf,
3-flowered. Cor. none. Stam. 10— 12. Female,
Cal. scale obscurely 3-cleft, 3-flowered. Cor. none.
Styles 2. Seeds compressed, winged.
Spec. Char. Leaves ovate, acute, somewhat deltoid,
unequally serrated, smoothish.
S y n . Betula alba. Linn. Sp. PI. 1393. Sm. FI.
Brit. 1012. Willd. Sp. PL v. 4. 462. Buds. 416.
With, 206. Hull. 210. ed. 2. 281. Relh. 374.
Sibth. 64. Abbot. 207.
Betula. Raii Syn. 443. Ger. em. 1478.
/3.B. pendula. Roth. Germ. v. 1. 405. v. 2. p , 2. 476.
B. verrucosa. Ehrh. Arb. 96.
A BU N DA N T in mountainous woods, and one of the most
hardy of trees, thriving even in the driest sandy soil, and
never hurt by any cold of this climate. It flowers in April
and May, and rises to the height of a moderate tree. The
wood is hard, tough and white. Trunk clothed with a snow-
white bark or cuticle, of many paper-like layers, very conspicuous
amongst other trees; cracked, rugged and dark when
old. Branches elongated and elegantly drooping; in the variety
0 longer and warty. Leaves alternate, stalked, triangular
inclining to ovate, pointed, variously and unequally serrated,
smooth, except a slight downiness at the back, which is variable.
The young branches are also often downy. In autumn
the foliage at length assumes a full yellow colour. Catkins
drooping, the scales of the female ones deciduous.
We are convinced of the propriety of separating Ahvus as
a genus. Its characters are properly given at t. 1508, and we
here reform those of Betula.
We have often studied the Birch and its varieties in the
Welch woods, wishing if possible to find constant specific
marks for the weeping kind, which by Ehrhart’s specimens
looks distinct; but the wartiness, as well as the downiness, of
the branches seemed variable, and each rather to indicate a
variety than a species. Mr. Sowerby finds 3 flowers to each
scale of the female catkin; the Alims has but two.