Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1904-05-13
A NEW WHITE BIRCH.

tBy w. II. Blanchard
Trees are our most conspicuous plants
and to many of us are the most interest
ing and best known. Nearly every in
tellgent farmer or lumberman knows the
name Of every native tree in his neigh
borhood. 1t is therefore likely to be a
matter of interest that a well-marked
species has eluded us all, botanists in
cluded
Such a tree occurs in large numbers in
Stratton and Windham, and probably in
many other towns in this county. 1t Is a
white birch and has two wellmarked
forms.
Two species of white birch have been
known in this section the paper or canoe
birch and the gray or poplar birch. The
canoe birch, Betula papyrifea, Marshall, Is
common everywhere and grows to good
size. The outer bark is readily separable
into thin sheets; the leaves have short.
stout stems petioles and there are
tufts of cobwebby wool or tomentum IN
the axis formed by the veins and mdrb
| on the lower side while I'm outline or
| shape they closely resemble the other
| well-known birches, the black birch and
! the yellow birch.
The gray birch, Betula populifola,
! Alton, is small and seldom attains to a
! diameter OF four inches Comparatively
| few Of us have learned to distinguish it
| from the canoe birch, though IT is very
| different The outer bark is not sep
! arabic into sheets The leaf is TRAN
| gular, long pointed with Jagged margin,
| delicate i'm appearance, thin. destitute OF
| tufts Of cobwebby tomentum, resembles
| a poplar rather than birch and has n
| long. slender stem or petiole on which II
| trembles like an aspen or poplar From
! this trembling as well from the shape OF
| the leaf it is often called the poplar birch,
! and Alton gave 1t name suggested by
! this resemblance. The tree casts thin
| shade.
The gray birch has been supposed to
occur only at low attitudes and in this
! section not far from the Connecticut
| river ON the sandy soil and gravel
| plains of this river it is often abundant.
| Finding it on the top Of Rocky Hill i'm
| Westminster. l was led to look for II on
other high grounds and found 1T was fire.
quent in Wardsboro. Stratton and Wind
ham. and in other towns, and it probably
! occurs i'm every town in Windham county.
l know it occurs in towns scattered all
| over the state.
1t is. therefore not surprising that other
| species of white birch have been over
| looked. While watching for the gray
! birch | found a very peculiar white birch
near the town house in Stratton in June,
! 1902. Early i'm June, 1903. l found this
! peculiar tree in abundance in Windham,
and on July :, l again visited Stratton to
| find it even more abundant there.
1t is well marked off from the other
| to thin sheets. The foliage is blush
green. making it easy to distinguish 1t
| from the other white biTches at a good
distance. This makes the name blue
birch very appropriate The leaf has
| long slender stem or petiole, is thin
| long pointed, destitute of cobwebby to-
mentum in the leaf axis while the mar
| gins are nearly free Of jaggedness, and
altogether it is delicate and beautiful
| There are important differences in the
IL vsrfaf s,l. rtg
to make them clear. The winged seeds
Of birches are in the axis or joints OF n
| bract which differs much in different
species. Here, too, these new brches
differ from all others.
Most brches do not fruit every year.
In 1903 none of our common hirches
fruited though this year all will prob
ably be loaded, but the gray birch bears
each year and the blue birches seem to
do the same. This is n very important
characteristic.
The blue birch. as | have said. presents
two well-marked forms. The more com
mon form has smaller fruit. smaller
leaves somewhat cunate or wedge shaped
at the base, and is a smaller tree; but it
is much larger than the gray birch. The
other form, probably not SO common,
grows to be a noble tree rivaling the ca
noe birch in size and surprising 1t in
beauty. 1t has large. nearly truncate
leaves and large fruit The seed bracts
are much larger than those OF the smaller
form and are very different in shape. In
fact. it might be separated as a distinct
| species.
As these birches are without names
propose to call the smaller one Betula
carulea and the larger one BetuIa cer-
uiea variety grandis which mean plainly
blue birch and large blue birch. and are
as suggestive as the names Of the other
birches.
expect that the range of these birches
will extend through all the higher sections
of this state and the neighboring states
1t is very desirable that their occurrence
in other places should be known and the
writer would be pleased TO be informed OF
their occurrence by any one who finds
them.
Westminster, Vt.