Betula nana

Dwarf birch
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Embryophytes
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; L.
Synonyms
	Synonymy Alnus nana (L.) Clairv. ; Betula alba subsp. nana (L.) Bonnier & Layens ; Betula crenata Rydb. ex E.J.Butler ; Betula glandulosa f. intermedia Kurtz ; Betula littelliana Tucker ; Betula nana var. borealis Regel ; Betula nana var. europaea Ledeb. ; Betula nana var. flabellifolia Hook. ; Betula nana var. genuina Regel, not validly publ. ; Betula nana var. intermedia Regel, nom. illeg. homonym. post. ; Betula nana var. macrophylla Gaudin ; Betula nana f. magnifolia Hartz ; Betula nana var. reducta Hultén ; Betula nana f. reducta (Hultén) B.Boivin ; Betula nana var. relicta Th.Fr. ex Gürke ; Betula nana subsp. relicta (Th.Fr. ex Gürke) Nyman ; Betula nana subsp. tundrarum (Perfil.) Á.Löve & D.Löve ; Betula naniformis Lindb. ex Kindb. ; Betula tundrarum Perfil. ; Betula viminea Kindb. ; Betula viminea var. serrulata Kindb. ; Chamaebetula acutifolia Opiz ; Chamaebetula nana (L.) Opiz ;

Betula nana, the dwarf birch,^[3] is a species of birch in the flowering plant family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region.

Description

It is a monoecious, deciduous 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.^[4] 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 Great Britain and 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) in the Alps and Carpathians. Its northern range limit is on Svalbard, where it is confined to favourable sites. In the UK Betula nana is at its southern range limit, with many populations having declined significantly in recent decades.^[5] In southern Sweden the occurrence of Betula nana in Sund, Ydre is deemed a glacial relict.^[6]

It generally favours wet, but well-drained sites, with a nutrient-poor, acidic soil that can be xeric and rocky. B. nana has a low tolerance for shade. In the Arctic it grows in alpine tundra, rocky barrens, and moorlands. In the Alps and Carpathians it grows in alpine tundra, subalpine damp moorlands, raised bogs with the moss Sphagnum magellanicum, and subalpine pine moors.^[1]

Genome

The genome of B. nana has been sequenced.^[7]

References

1 2 Stritch, L. (2014). "Betula nana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014 e.T194495A2341542. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T194495A2341542.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
↑ "Betula nana L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
↑ 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.
↑ Ewing, Susan. The Great Alaska Nature Factbook. Portland: Alaska Northwest Books, 1996.
↑ 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.
↑ Hellgren, George (1960). "Något om växtligheten i Ydre". In Filén, Thure (ed.). Ydre-Boken (in Swedish). Linköping. pp. 86–91.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
↑ Wang N.; Thomson M.; Bodles W.J.A.; Crawford R.M.M.; Hunt H.V.; Featherstone A.W.; Pellicer J.; Buggs R.J.A. (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. S2CID 206179485.

External links

Betula nana photographed north of the village of Upernavik Kujalleq, north-east of the mountain Kingigtoq, western Greenland

[iucn-1] 1 2 Stritch, L. (2014). "Betula nana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014 e.T194495A2341542. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T194495A2341542.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

[powo-2] "Betula nana L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 13 August 2026.

[3] 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.

[4] Ewing, Susan. The Great Alaska Nature Factbook. Portland: Alaska Northwest Books, 1996.

[5] 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.

[Hellgren1960-6] Hellgren, George (1960). "Något om växtligheten i Ydre". In Filén, Thure (ed.). Ydre-Boken (in Swedish). Linköping. pp. 86–91.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[7] Wang N.; Thomson M.; Bodles W.J.A.; Crawford R.M.M.; Hunt H.V.; Featherstone A.W.; Pellicer J.; Buggs R.J.A. (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. S2CID 206179485.

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