Bog birch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bog birch |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Betula
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| Species: |
pumila
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Betula pumila is also known as the dwarf birch or bog birch. This plant is a type of deciduous shrub. This means it's a woody plant that loses its leaves every autumn. The dwarf birch is native to North America.
You can find the bog birch across a huge part of northern North America. It grows from Yukon in the west all the way to New England in the east. It also reaches down to Washington and Oregon. This plant loves wet places. It often lives in swamps and areas along rivers in the cold, northern forests called boreal forests.
What is Dwarf Birch?
The dwarf birch usually grows to be about 1 to 4 meters (3 to 13 feet) tall. Like other birch trees, it has both male and female flowers on the same plant. This is called being monoecious. Its flowers grow in special clusters called catkins.
Leaves and Flowers
The leaves of the dwarf birch grow in an alternate pattern. This means they are not directly opposite each other on the stem. On plants that grow slowly, the leaves might be very close together. Each leaf has a rounded base. Its edges are also "dentate," which means they have coarse, tooth-like edges.
