Betula neoalaskana
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Betula neoalaskana (syn. B. resinifera) or Alaska birch, also known as Alaska paper birch or resin birch, is a species of birch native to Alaska and northern Canada. Its range covers most of interior Alaska, and extends from the southern Brooks Range to the Chugach Range in Alaska, including the Turnagain Arm and northern half of the Kenai Peninsula, eastward from Norton Sound through the Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, southern Nunavut, and into northwestern Ontario.
This tree typically grows to Script error: No such module "convert". tall, occasionally up to Script error: No such module "convert"., and achieves a trunk diameter of Script error: No such module "convert"., and sometimes to more than Script error: No such module "convert".. It grows in a variety of habitats, from wetlands to ridgetops at altitudes of Script error: No such module "convert".. The mature bark ranges widely in color, from pure white to red, yellowish, pinkish, or gray. Bark of twigs, seedlings, and saplings is dark, from reddish to almost black, and covered with resin glands. The leaves are triangular-ovate, Script error: No such module "convert". long and Script error: No such module "convert". broad, with a truncate base and an acuminate apex, and a double-serrated margin. The fruiting catkins are Script error: No such module "convert". long and about Script error: No such module "convert". broad. It is able to tolerate extreme cold, as low as Script error: No such module "convert"..
Although it is diploid like its close relatives, the Eurasian Silver Birch and the eastern American Gray Birch, it frequently hybridizes with the hexaploid Paper Birch; the hybrid is known as Betula × winteri. Hybrids also occur with American Dwarf Birch, named Betula × uliginosa.
See also
References
- Flora of North America: Betula neoalaskana
- Packee, E. C. (2004). Taxonomy and Evolution of Alaska's Birches. Agroborealis 36(1): 20.
- Hunt, D. (1993). Betula. Proceedings of the IDS Betula Symposium 2–4 October 1992. International Dendrology Society.
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System - Itis.gov Betula neoalaskana