''Betula pumila'' (dwarf birch or bog birch
) is a
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...
shrub native to North America. Bog birch occurs over a vast area of northern North America, from
Yukon
Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...
in the west to New England in the east and all the way to
Washington and
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
, inhabiting swamps and riparian zones in the boreal forests.
Description
It reaches in height. Like other birches, it is
monoecious
Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy.
Monoecy i ...
and its reproductive structures are
catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster (a spike), with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind- pollinated ( anemophilous) but sometimes insect-pollinated (as in '' Salix''). They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arra ...
s. Leaves are
alternate but close together, especially on slow growing individuals. Leaves are coarsely
dentate and rounded at the base.
References
External links
*
*
pumila
Flora of North America
Trees of continental subarctic climate
Trees of Canada
{{Fagales-stub