Betula occidentalis : Water Birch

Scientific Name:

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:

• Tracheophyta (vascular)
• Spermatophyta (seed bearing)
Angiospermae (enclosed seed)

Class: Dicoteldonae (two seed-leaves)

Family: Betulaceae (Birch Family)

Genera: Betula (Birches) (Latin name for birch. A very ancient name. Perhaps from Celtic betu=tree.)

Species: occidentalis (western)

Synonym(s): B. microphylla, B. fontinalis

English Name(s):

Water Birch, River Birch

First Nation Names:

Structure:

• Plants are monoecious(bi-sexual).
• Twigs often dotted with wart-like glands.
• Bark shining red-brown. Sometimes peeling with pale horizontal lenticels (pores).
• Shrubs to small trees. Usually with several trunks. 3-6 meters tall.

Leaves:

• Alternate, simple (not compound, or lobed).
• Venation pinnate with secondary viens paired.
• 1.5-5cm long. Margins serrate to double serrate.
• Blades on petiole. Ovate to obtuse in shape.

Reproductive Parts:

• Flowers imperfect (single gendered) in catkins.
• Fruiting catkins (female catkins) deciduous.
• Male catkins1-4 per bud, male flowers in clusters of 3, with 2 stamens per flower,
• Female catkins 1.5-4.0cm long. semi-pendent.

Seed:

• Fruit are numerous small single seeded nutlets.
• Nutlets winged.
• Wings of nutlets about as wide as the nutlet.

Not to Be Confused With:

• This species will hybirdize with both B.glandulosa and B.papyrifera creating much variation and some confusion.

Physiology:

• All of our birches can hybridize with eachother.
• When B.glandulosa (Dwarf Birch) hybridizes with B.papyrifera (Paper Birch) the result is a shrub/tree that is very much like B.occidentalis (Water Birch). It has been suggested that B.occidentalis may be of hybrid origin.

Life Cycle:

• Long lived perennial.

Seasonal Cycle:

• Catkins appear before the leaves.
• leaves deciduous.
• Leaves turn bright yellow or bright orange in Autumn.

Animal Uses:

Habitat:

• Dry ridges and slopes.

Modern:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

Food:

Traditional Gwich'in:

Folklore:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

Food:

Traditional Other:

Folklore:

Industrial:

Medicinal:

Food: