E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Betula pubescens Ehrh.
downy birch (European white birch; silver birch)
Betulaceae (Birch family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Distribution of Betula pubescens
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Betula pubescens ssp. pubescens

Species Information

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General:
Deciduous tree, 10-30 m tall; bark white or brown, often peeling; twigs short-hairy, not glandular.
Leaves:
Alternate, deciduous, rounded in outline, hairy below, rarely glandular, 1-5 cm long.
Flowers:
Male and female flowers in separate catkins, the male 3-6 cm long, the female 1-4 cm long; flowers emerging before or with the leaves; catkins breaking up at maturity.
Fruits:
Nutlets with broad wings, at least 1-1 1/2 times as wide as the body of the nutlets; bracts with rounded lateral lobes.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Bogs in the lowland zone; rare in SW BC, known from the lower Fraser Valley and extreme SE Vancouver Island; introduced from Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Betula alba L.
Betula pubescens subsp. pubescens Ehrh.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Betulaceae
 Flora North America treatment for Betula pubescens
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

UBC Herbarium Scanned Collection Record
 Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-07-27 5:01:41 AM ]
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