''Betula glandulosa'', the American dwarf birch, also known as resin birch or shrub birch, is a species of

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Description

American dwarf birch is a multi-stemmed

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

typically growing to tall, often forming dense thickets. The trunks are slender, rarely over diameter, with smooth, dark brown bark. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are nearly circular to oval, long and broad, with a toothed margin. The

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

ing

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, arranged cl ...

s are erect, long and broad. It is closely related to the

dwarf birch ''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region. Description It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-coppe ...

(''Betula nana''), and is sometimes treated as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of it, as ''B. nana'' subsp. ''glandulosa''. It is distinguished from typical ''B. nana'' by the presence of glandular warts on the shoots and longer leaf petioles. Hybrids with several other birches occur.

Distribution and habitat

This plant occurs in

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

and cool

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

areas from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

east to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and southern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, and south at high altitudes to northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, and the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black Elk P ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

in the west, and locally south to northern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the east. In the Arctic, it occurs down to sea level, while in the south of the range, it grows as high as altitude. It is typically a wetland species, growing in bogs, muskegs, or other moist and nutrient-deficient soils, but can be found in a wide variety of sites, ranging from rocky subarctic locales to boreal forests with deep, organic-rich soils. It is the most common shrub at treeline in interior Alaska, forming a nearly continuous zone between the treeline and alpine tundra.

Ecology

Many species of wildlife rely on this shrub as a food source, particularly ungulates such as moose, deer, caribou and elk. Its preference as a food source varies depending on the specific population; moose in Alberta, for example, are known to graze on it heavily, whereas moose in Alaska are observed to eat it at low levels. Bears, small mammals, birds, and insects also rely on the shrub as a food source. American dwarf birch provides cover for ptarmigans, and grizzly bears use it consistently to construct their dens. This species is valued for its erosion control potential, and has been used to help stabilize stream-banks.

References

Flora of North America: ''Betula glandulosa''RangeMap
*Hunt, D. (1993). ''Betula. Proceedings of the IDS Betula Symposium 2–4 October 1992''. International Dendrology Society.

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Betula glandulosa'' (resin birch)Calflora Database: ''Betula glandulosa'' (Resin birch)
glandulosa Flora of Subarctic America Flora of Western Canada Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of Alaska Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the Western United States Flora of California Flora of Greenland Flora of New Mexico Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Rocky Mountains Flora of the North-Central United States {{Fagales-stub