Betula nana L.

Scrub birch (en), Bouleau nain d'europe (fr), Bouleau nain (fr)

Species

Angiosperms > Fagales > Betulaceae > Betula

Characteristics

Shrubs , sprawling, creeping, or upright, to 1 m. Bark gray to dark brown, smooth, close; lenticels inconspicuous, unexpanded. Twigs without taste and odor of wintergreen, glabrous to sparsely or moderately pubescent, with or without heavy resinous coating, sometimes covered with warty resinous glands. Leaf blade broadly orbiculate or obovate-orbiculate to reniform, with 2--6 pairs of lateral veins, often broader than long, base rounded to nearly cordate, margins deeply crenate, apex rounded; surfaces abaxially glabrous to sparsely or moderately pubescent. Staminate and pistillate catkins produced season before flowering but retained in buds during winter, expanding along with new growth in spring. Infructescences erect, nearly cylindric, shattering with fruits in fall. Samaras with wings much narrower than body, broadest near center, not extended beyond body apically.
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A low shrub. It loses its leaves during the year. It grows 0.6 m high and spread 1.2 m wide. It forms thickets. The leaves are small. They are 18 mm long. They are kidney shaped or rounded. They are thick textured. The leaves are dark green and have fine teeth. The leaves turn yellow and red in autumn. The flower catkins are 12 mm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form shrub
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination anemogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) 1.0 - 1.2
Mature height (meter) 0.6 - 0.8
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.35
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Cold temperate. It grows above the Arctic circle. It grows in the tundra and in bogs and on low hills. It is resistant to frost but damaged by drought. It suits hardiness zones 2-7.
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Mountain moors, 240-840 metres.
Light 5-8
Soil humidity 3-5
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 2-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 2-5

Usage

The leaves and twigs are used for tea drinks.
Uses dye fiber fuel material medicinal tea wood
Edible flowers leaves
Therapeutic use Analgesic (leaf), Gastrointestinal Aid (leaf)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.
Mode cuttings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 90
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment stratification
Minimum temperature (C°) -45
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Betula nana habit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)
Betula nana habit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Betula nana leaf picture by eirik tessem (cc-by-sa)
Betula nana leaf picture by Julio Pascual (cc-by-sa)
Betula nana leaf picture by Hanspeter Prosch (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Betula nana flower picture by huy HO (cc-by-sa)
Betula nana flower picture by Tom Spruit (cc-by-sa)
Betula nana flower picture by KS Mariusz (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Betula nana fruit picture by Yoan MARTIN (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Betula nana world distribution map, present in Austria, Belarus, Canada, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Finland, France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Sweden, and United States of America

Conservation status

Betula nana threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:301322-2
WFO ID wfo-0000334679
COL ID LPBR
BDTFX ID 9620
INPN ID 85897
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Betula crenata Betula littelliana Betula tundrarum Chamaebetula acutifolia Chamaebetula nana Alnus nana Betula glandulosa f. intermedia Betula nanaeformis Betula viminea Betula nana var. europaea Betula nana var. flabellifolia Betula nana var. intermedia Betula nana subsp. nana Betula nana var. relicta Betula nana subsp. tundrarum Betula nana var. reducta Betula nana subsp. relicta Betula nana var. borealis Betula nana var. macrophylla Betula viminea var. serrulata Betula nana f. magnifolia Betula nana f. reducta Betula nana