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Betula maximowicziana

(Monarch Birch, Udai-Kamba)

Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Monarch Birch, Udai-Kamba

Description

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Family Betulaceae

Trees or shrubs deciduous, monoecious. Stipules present, free , often deciduous, rarely persistent . Leaves alternate, simple , petiolate , usually doubly serrate, rarely simply serrate, lobulate , or entire ; veins pinnate. Flowers unisexual . Male inflorescence precocious , elongate , pendulous, with numerous overlapping bracts; each bract usually subtending a small dichasium with 1-3 male flowers; stamens as many as and opposite sepals or, if sepals obsolete , then stamens of inflorescence to 20; filaments very short, connate or nearly so; anthers 2-loculed, thecae connate or separate, opening by longitudinal slits. Female inflorescence pendulous or erect , with numerous overlapping bracts; each bract subtending a small dichasium with 2 or 3 flowers; calyx with 1-6 scalelike lobes , or obsolete; petals absent; ovary inferior, 2-loculed; styles 2, free; ovules 2, or 1 by abortion , pendulous from near apex of each locule. Fruit a nut or nutlet , winged or not. Seed 1, with straight embryo and flat or thickened cotyledons, without endosperm.

Six genera and 150-200 species: mainly in Asia, Europe, and North and South America; six genera (one endemic) and 89 species (56 endemic) in China.

Because of evolutionary divergence within the Betulaceae, the family has often been divided into tribes (i.e. , Betuleae, Carpineae, and Coryleae) or more recently into subfamilies (J. J. Furlow, J. Arnold Arbor . 71: 1-67. 1990) .Pei-chun Li & Alexei K. Skvortsov "Betulaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 4 Page 286. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Genus Betula

Trees or shrubs , to 30 m ; trunks often several, branching excurrent, becoming deliquescent. Bark of trunks and branches dark brown to chalky white, smooth , often exfoliating; lenticels dark, prominent , sometimes horizontally expanded. Wood nearly white to reddish brown, light and soft to moderately heavy and hard, texture fine. Branches, branchlets , and twigs nearly 2-ranked; young twigs differentiated into long and short shoots , sometimes with taste and odor of wintergreen. Winter buds sessile, slender, terete , apex acute; scales several, imbricate, smooth. Leaves mostly on short shoots, nearly 2-ranked. Leaf blade ovate to deltate, elliptic , or nearly orbiculate, 0.5--10(--14) × 0.5--8 cm, thin, margins doubly serrate or serrate (or crenate to shallowly round-lobed in dwarf northern species) ; surfaces glabrous to tomentose , sometimes abaxially resinous-glandular. Inflorescences: staminate catkins mostly terminal on branchlets, solitary or in small racemose clusters , formed previous growing season and often exposed during winter, expanding with leaves; pistillate catkins proximal to staminate catkins, mostly solitary, erect , ovoid to cylindric , firm; scales and flowers crowded, enclosed within buds during winter, expanding with leaves. Staminate flowers in catkins 3 per scale; stamens (1--) 2--3(--4), filaments divided below anthers , nearly to base . Pistillate flowers (1--) 3 per scale. Infructescences erect or pendulous; scales usually deciduous with release of fruits (although persisting into winter in a few species), (1--) 3-lobed, thickened or leathery but not woody. Fruits samaras, lateral wings 2, moderately wide to broad, membranaceous . x = 14.

Species ca. 35 (18 sp: throughout n temperate , boreal, and arctic zones of the Northern Hemisphere; North America, Asia.

Birches, like alders, are common trees and shrubs of northern temperate and boreal zones of the Northern Hemisphere. Like Alnus, the group is highly diversified, especially in the Old World. The species are well known for their free hybridization, and specimens are therefore frequently difficult to identify. Birches occupy habitats in cool, moist regions, including peatlands, stream banks, and lakeshores, cool, damp woods, and moist slopes in cool coves . The wood of species that grow to a large size (including especially B . alleghaniensis ) has many uses, including the manufacture of doors and windows , flooring, cabinetry, interior molding, wood paneling, furniture, and plywood.

Betula sect. Costatae (Regel) Koehne consists of large, mesophytic trees, often with dark, close or exfoliating bark, large thin leaves, infructescence scales with long narrow lobes , and fruits with narrow wings. North American representatives of this group include Betula alleghaniensis, B. lenta, and B. nigra. The mostly circumboreal Betula sect. Betula consists of small to medium trees with rather large thin leaves and fruits with wide wings (wider than the fruit body). A characteristic feature of trees in this group is their white bark that often peels apart in sheets. These include the familiar paper birch, B. papyrifera, and its European counterpart, B. pubescens, as well as the common eastern B. neoalaskana. A third line , Betula sect. Humiles W. D. Koch, consists of dwarf shrubby species of the cold circumpolar region. In North America this section is represented by B. glandulosa, B. pumila, and B. nana.

Birches are a difficult group taxonomically because of their high vegetative variability and frequent hybridization. Many morphologic and cytologic studies have attempted to deal with variation within the genus or its subgroups. Species of Betula form a polyploid series, with chromosome numbers of 2 n = 28, 56, 70, 84, and 112, plus additional numbers in some hybrids. This and other research in the genus has been reviewed by J. J. Furlow (1990)."Betula". in Flora of North America Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. Online at EFloras.org.

Physical Description

ID Features: Very long leaves and coarse texture make it easy to distinguish from other. birches. Dense pubescence on young leaves. Racemous female catkins. Distinctly cordate leaf bases.

Habit: Deciduous tree , generally pyramidal shape when younger, becoming rounded and more irregular with age.

Flowers: Blooms in April, but catkins visible before bloom. Monoecious: male catkins 4" to 5" long; female catkins up to 2.5", in. racemes of two to four.

Seeds: Fruit: Nutlets held in cylindrical catkins.

Foliage: Summer foliage: Leaves are the largest of the birches. 3" to 6" long, up to 4" wide. Alternate, heart-shaped, doubly tooted, single arrangement leaves. New leaves downy , maturing to glabrous dark green. Distinctly cordate leaf bases . • Fall foliage: Yellow. Generally quite showy.

Size/Age/Growth

Size: 80' to 100' tall. Cultivated plants typically 40' to 60'.

Landscaping

Landscape Uses: A specimen tree . Lawn tree. Casts light shade. For showy bark . Reported to be resistant to bronze birch borer which plagues other white. barked birches. • Liabilities: Not all plants sold in the trade are true B . maximowicziana. Good white bark color may not develop on all B. maximowicziana. Rare and difficult to locate for purchase. Probable not cold hardy at all beyond zone 5.

Biology

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Growth

Culture: A rare plant so limited cultural information has been developed. Appears to be easy to grow. Grows rapidly. Locate in full sun .

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun .

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b. (map)

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Betula candelae Koidz.
  2. Betula maximowiczii Regel

Notes

Publishing author : Rupr. Publication : Bull . Cl. Phys.-Math. Acad. Imp. Sci. Saint-Pétersbourg 15: 139 1856 Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Govaerts R., 11-Nov-2003

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Betula

There are approximately 567 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

B. arbuscula · B. dugleana · B. dutillyi · B. glandulosa · B. hybrida · B. neoborealis · B. piperi · B. raymundii · B. sandbergii · B. sargentii · B. sukaczewii · B. uliginosa · B. ungavensis · B. winteri · B. 'Chris Grey-Wilson' · B. 'Conyngham' · B. 'Crimson Frost' (Purple Birch) · B. 'Fetisowii' · B. 'Harry Gee' · B. 'Haywood' · B. 'Hergest' · B. 'Inverleith' · B. 'Monle' · B. 'Rocky Mountain Splendor' (European Birch) · B. 'Royal Frost' (Purple Birch) · B. 'Sauwala White' · B. 'Trost's Dwarf' · B. 'White Horse' · B. 'White Light' · B. 'White Satin' (Birch) · B. adasii · B. aequalis · B. alajica · B. alaskana var. glandulosa · B. alba f. cordifolia · B. alba f. occidentalis · B. alba L. var. carelica Merckl. · B. alba L. var. commutata Regel · B. alba L. var. humilis Regel · B. alba L. var. japonica Miq. · B. alba L. var. kamtschatica Regel · B. alba L. var. kusmisscheffii Regel · B. alba L. var. pumila L. · B. alba L. var. schugnanica B.Fedtsch. · B. alba L. var. tauschii Regel · B. alba latifolia · B. alba mandshurica · B. alba papyrifera · B. alba pubescens (Birches) · B. alba soongarica · B. alba var. laciniata · B. albo-sinensis · B. albosinensis (Chinese Red Birch) · B. albosinensis 'Bowling Green' · B. albosinensis 'China Ruby' · B. albosinensis 'Chinese Garden' · B. albosinensis 'Fascination' · B. albosinensis 'K. Ashburner' · B. albosinensis 'Kansu' · B. albosinensis 'Ness' · B. albosinensis 'Sable' · B. albosinensis hybrid · B. albosinensis var. septentrionalis 'Purdom' · B. alleghaniensis (Curly Birch) · B. alleghaniensis Britton var. alleghaniensis Britton (Yellow Birch) · B. alleghaniensis Britton var. macrolepis (Fern.) Brayshaw (Yellow Birch) · B. alleghaniensis f. macrolepis · B. alleghaniesis · B. alnoides · B. alnus L. var. glutinosa L. · B. alnus L. var. incana L. · B. alnus L. var. rugosa Du Roi · B. alnus-incana · B. alnus-rugosa · B. alpestris (Birch) · B. alpestris nothovar. sukaczevii · B. alpestris var. alpestris · B. alpestris var. sukaczevii · B. angulata · B. angustifolia · B. antarctica · B. apoda · B. apoiensis (Birch) · B. apoiensis 'Mount Apoi' (Birch) · B. aschersoniana · B. ashleyi · B. ashleyii · B. aspleniifolia · B. aurata · B. austro-sinensis · B. austrosichotensis · B. avatshensis · B. baicalensis · B. baschkirica · B. bhojpatra · B. bomiensis · B. borggreveana · B. brongniartii · B. browicziana · B. brunnea

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 15, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2008-07-24