What family is birch?

Birch familyBirch / FamilyBetulaceae, the birch family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams, hazel-hornbeam, and hop-hornbeams numbering a total of 167 species. Wikipedia

What are birch trees related to?

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

Are poplar and birch related?

Poplar trees (cottonwoods) and birch trees typically grow in the same geographical regions and have many similar physical features. These factors make it hard to tell these two families of trees apart.

Are birch and alder related?

Alders and birches are both in the birch family (Betulaceae). You might say they’re cousins — different genera, with alders in the genus Alnus and birches in Betula. They’re enough alike to be confusing, especially when they don’t have leaves.

Do birch trees have flowers?

Birch conceal their flowers in catkins. Not every spring wildflower fits well into a bouquet. The slender birch tree offers both male and female flowers in the form of catkins. Birch pollen fertilizes female flowers about the time the birch leaves open.

What is special about birch trees?

Birch tree produces fruit called “samara” which can release around 1 million seeds each year. Seeds and bark of the birch are source of food for forest animals such as rabbits, deer and birds. Wood of birch tree is highly flammable. It can catch a fire even when it is wet.

Is cottonwood related to birch?

How can you tell a birch from a poplar?

Birch leaves tend to turn golden in the autumn, which can help you recognize the tree. These leaves are typically oval with a tapered end and smaller than the poplar leaves, which are rounded in most species and almost as wide as they are long.

Is poplar in the birch family?

Birch Trees – Differences. While some species of poplar have physical features that resemble those of birch trees, there are several notable differences between these two types of deciduous trees. Poplar and birch trees vary in terms of height, bark color, leaf shape/color/size, flowers, and growing zones.

Are aspen trees part of the birch family?

Both of these trees are angiosperms, or flowering plants. However, they are classified into different plant families. Birch trees belong to the birch family, Betulaceae, whereas aspen trees are a member of the willow family, Salicaceae. Birch trees are then further grouped into their own genus, Betula.

Are there male and female birch trees?

Birches are monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant).

What family is Betulaceae in?

Betulaceae: Birch Family. Identify plants, flowers, shrubs and trees. The Birch family includes deciduous trees and shrubs with simple, toothed, alternate leaves, with neatly pinnate veins. Male and female catkins form separately on the same bush (monoecious).

What are the different types of Betula?

It can be divided into two subfamilies: Betuloideae, with the genera Betula (birch) and Alnus (alder); and Coryloideae, with the genera Carpinus (hornbeam), Corylus (hazel, or filbert), Ostrya, and Ostryopsis. The genus Betula, with approximately 60 species, is the largest in the family.

What is Betula oil used for?

Oil of betula, obtained from birch twigs, smells and tastes like wintergreen and is used in tanning Russian leather. A number of species are valued as ornamentals.