| Betula occidentalis Hook. | |||
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| Family | Betulaceae — APG family: Betulaceae | ||
| Synonyms | Betula beeniana Nels., Betula eastwoodae Sarg., Betula commixta Sarg., Betula microphylla | ||
| Description | Under this name is included a number of shrubs (or, rarely, small trees), smaller than the tree birches but larger than B. glandulosa, which are characterized by highly variable form and serrulation of the leaves; variable pubescence and short catkins; leaves that are mostly ovate and acute, often with finely pubescent petioles; twigs that are very densely glandular; and not uncommon occurrences of specimens lacking fructification. | ||
| Taxonomy notes | In Alaska, “B. occidentalis’ occupies the area common to B. glandulosa and B. papyrifera subsp. humilis; it seems reasonable, therefore, to regard the group as a hybrid population between these taxa. It is also very similar to B. minor Fern. of eastern North America, which might in fact be the corresponding B. glandulosa hybrid series with the eastern American birches. |
This is a digital representation of Eric Hultén’s ‘Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants’, which was published by Stanford University Press in 1968. The book was digitized by C. Webb (at UAMN) as part of the Flora of Alaska project, with funding by the US NSF (Grant 1759964 to Ickert-Bond & Webb), and with permission of Stanford University Press. Data and images © 1968 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Jr. Univ. Usage licence: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0. NB: You may find OCR errors; please refer to the hard-copy if in doubt.