Betula pumila L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Betulaceae

• Scientific Name

  Betula pumila L.

• Description

  Species Description - Erect, branching shrub 1–4 m, with close, brown bark; lvs firm, obovate to broadly ovate or orbicular, 2–3 cm, obtuse to broadly rounded above, coarsely dentate, rounded to broadly cuneate at base, softly pubescent on both sides when young, glabrescent with age, the hairs mostly 1–2 mm; lateral veins 3–6 pairs, the veinlets conspicuously raised-reticulate; fruiting catkins 1–2 cm, on peduncles 5–10 mm; scales 2.8–5.5 mm, about as wide, the lateral lobes widely divergent, often constricted at base; frs depressed-obovate to subrotund or oblate, truncate or rounded above, 1.6–2.8 × 1.8–3.7 mm, the body half as wide as the whole fr; 2n=56. In bogs, often forming large colonies; Nf. and Que. to s. Ont. and Mich., s. to N.J., Md., c. O., and n. Ind.

• Common Names

  swamp birch