Betula nana

Betula nana, the dwarf birch,[2] is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.

Betula nana in Norway. September 2012. 1000m ASL

Dwarf birch
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fagales
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Betula
Subgenus: Betula subg. Chamaebetula
Species:
B. nana
Binomial name
Betula nana

Description

It is a monoecious shrub growing up to 1–1.2 metres (3 ft 3 in–3 ft 11 in) high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copper colored.[3] The leaves are rounded, 6–20 millimetres (0.24–0.79 in) diameter, with a bluntly toothed margin. The leaves are a darker green on their upper surface. Leaf growth occurs after snow melt and become red in autumn.

The wind-pollinated fruiting catkins are erect, 5–15 millimetres (0.20–0.59 in) long and 4–10 millimetres (0.16–0.39 in) broad.

Distribution

Betula nana is native to arctic and cool temperate regions of Greenland, Iceland, northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America and it will grow in a variety of conditions. Outside of far northern areas, it is usually found growing only in mountains above 300 metres (980 ft), up to 835 metres (2,740 ft) in Scotland and 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) in the Alps. Its northern range limit is on Svalbard, where it is confined to warm sites. In the UK Betula nana is at its southern range limit, with many populations having declined significantly in recent decades.[4] In southern Sweden the occurrence of Betula nana in Sund, Ydre is deemed a glacial relict.[5]

In general, it favors wet but well-drained sites with a nutrient-poor, acidic soil which can be xeric and rocky. B. nana has a low tolerance for shade.

Ecology

There are two subspecies:

  • Betula nana subsp. nana. Canada (Baffin Island), Greenland, northern Europe (south to the Alps at high altitudes), northwestern Asia. Young twigs hairy, but without resin; leaves longer (to 20 mm), usually as long as broad.
  • Betula nana subsp. exilis. Northeastern Asia, northern North America (Alaska, Canada east to Nunavut). Young twigs hairless or with only scattered hairs, but coated in resin; leaves shorter (not over 12 mm long), often broader than long.

Genome

The genome of B. nana has been sequenced.[6]

References
  1. Stritch, L. (2014). "Betula nana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T194495A2341542.
  2. Kelvin S.-H. Peh; Richard T. Corlett; Yves Bergeron, eds. (2015). Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology. Routledge. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-415-73545-2.
  3. Ewing, Susan. The Great Alaska Nature Factbook. Portland: Alaska Northwest Books, 1996.
  4. Borrell, James S.; Wang, Nian; Nichols, Richard A.; Buggs, Richard J. A. (15 August 2018). "Genetic diversity maintained among fragmented populations of a tree undergoing range contraction". Heredity. 121 (4): 304–318. doi:10.1038/s41437-018-0132-8. ISSN 0018-067X. OCLC 888447574. PMC 6134035. PMID 30111882.
  5. Hellgren, George (1960). "Något om växtligheten i Ydre". In Filén, Thure (ed.). Ydre-Boken (in Swedish). Linköping. pp. 86–91.
  6. Wang N.; Thomson M.; Bodles W.J.; Crawford R.M.; Hunt H.V.; Featherstone A.W.; Pellicer J.; Buggs R.J. (2013). "Genome sequence of dwarf birch (Betula nana) and cross-species RAD markers". Mol. Ecol. 22 (11): 3098–3111. doi:10.1111/mec.12131. PMID 23167599.
Betula nana photographed north of the village of Upernavik Kujalleq, north-east of the mountain Kingigtoq, western Greenland
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