Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center


Home	About NPWRC	Our Science	Staff	Employment	Contacts	Common Questions	About the Site

Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains

Betulaceae, the Birch Family

Monoecious trees or shrubs. Leaves alternate, stipulate, serrate, pinnately veined. Flowers much reduced and imperfect; the male and female flowers produced in separate catkins on the same individual. Flowers 3 per scale in the catkin; perianth none; stamens 2-10; carpels 2, each with a stigma and style, ovary 2-celled, 4-ovuled. Fruit a winged nutlet, 1-seeded by abortion.

Lead	Characteristic	Go To
1	Catkins in terminal clusters of 3-several; pistillate scales unlobed.	Genus Alnus
1	Catkins borne singly; pistillate scales 3-lobed.	Genus Betula

11. Betulaceae, the Birch Family

1. Alnus P. Mill. -- Alder

1. Alnus incana (L.) Moench -- Speckled alder

2. Betula L. -- Birch

1. Betula glandulosa Michx. -- Dwarf birch, swamp birch

Previous Section -- Urticaceae - The Nettle Family
Return to Contents
Next Section -- Chenopodiaceae - The Goosefoot Family

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/plants/vascplnt/fambetul.htm
Page Contact Information: Webmaster
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:36:49 EST
Menlo Park, CA [caww54]