For Russians, there is no tree dearer than birch. The word itself appeared in the 7th century from the verb "protect". For the ancient Slavs, the deity Bereginya, which they represented in the guise of a birch, was a symbol of fertility, as well as a protector of people. In all likelihood, the name of the tree came to us from those ancient times. Do you know how many and what types of birches grow in Russia? Today we have to find out.
Description
Many types of birches are trees reaching a height of 30 to 45 meters, in girth the trunk grows up to 150 centimeters, although there are large and small shrubs, including creeping ones, barely raised above the ground. All members of the birch family are monoecious, dioecious, wind-pollinated plants.
The root system of trees of this genus is powerful, it can be both superficial and obliquely deep (depending on growing conditions). The fading of the tap root of the seedling occurs quite quickly, but the lateral ones with a huge number of thin urolithic roots develop rapidly. In the early years, birch grows veryslowly, but over time, it begins to quickly strive upward, defeating the grassy vegetation.
The bark of most species is white, yellow, pinkish or reddish-brown, although there are varieties with a gray, brown and even black outer part of the trunk. Cells of cork tissue are filled with easily exfoliated betulin (white resinous substance). In long-lived trees, it is quite common to see a dark crust with many deep cracks in the lower part of the trunk.
The leaves of the members of the birch family are alternate, serrated along the edges, whole, ovate-rhombic or triangular-ovate, smooth, monosymmetrical, reach 7 centimeters in length, 4 in width.
Types of birches in Russia
We reviewed the general description of representatives of this genus. Now I would like to dwell on some varieties in more detail. Do you know how many species of birch exist in the world? Biologists number about 120 varieties of slender, white-trunked, light-colored trees, while in Russia there are about 65 varieties that differ in some characteristics. No wonder the birch has become a symbol of our country.
In addition to the usual blond trees with long catkins, there are, it turns out, varieties of a completely different look. The most common types of birches in Russia are drooping and fluffy, although there are also trees with yellow, purple, cherry, gray, brown and black bark in our country. In these unique trees, only experienced botanists will be able torecognize a representative of the birch genus. So, for example, in the Far Eastern taiga, birch grows with shaggy bark instead of birch bark. Also here there are trees with a dark purple outer part of the trunk. This species is called iron birch due to its hard wood, the strength of which is second only to boccaout (a tree that grows in the tropics).
Betula pendula
As we have already said, the symbol of Russia is the birch. We will consider the types and varieties of the most common trees in our country in the article. And let's start with drooping birch (warty). This tree can reach a height of 30 meters with a trunk diameter of 60-80 centimeters. It is characterized by an openwork crown, with shoots hanging down, snow-white or grayish-white bark with various cracks, the shape of which depends on the type of birch bark. In the lower part of the trunk, the formation of a rough crust is possible. Birches with a rhomboid-fractured shape grow rapidly, respectively, with coarse bark - slowly. The main feature of this species is the presence of small growths, the so-called warts on young branches. The most valuable variety of silver birch is Karelian.
Betula pubescens
The fluffy birch is a straight-stemmed tree with outstretched branches, smooth white or grayish bark and young shoots hanging down. The burl birch is especially valued.
Betula pubescens is found in almost all zones, with the exception of the extreme northern and southern areas where shrub birch species grow. Description of the area where trees grow: the most common birch species often grow in the same forest parks, despite the fact that their ecological properties are different; for drooping birch, dry places on a hill are preferred, and for fluffy birch - highly moistened; sometimes even found in swampy areas. These types of birches grow well with deciduous and coniferous trees.
Mini trees
What are the types of birches, except for the above-mentioned varieties in the vastness of our country? In addition to tall white-barked trees, dwarf birches grow in the mountains of Russia. Some species are found in the Altai Mountains and the mountainous areas of Central Asia. Botanists number about 12 varieties of low-growing trees growing around the world. So, for example, in Altai you can admire the small-leaved birch, in the Pamir-Altai - Altai and Turkestan, and in the Tien Shan - Sapozhnikov and Tien Shan birch.
Dwarf trees in our country are found in the Far North, mainly in the treeless landscape zone of the subarctic zone of the northern hemisphere with characteristic moss-lichen vegetation and the mountain tundra of eastern Siberia. The most common low-growing birches include dwarf, skinny, Middendorf and Komarov birch.
Some species are so small that they are inferior in height to boletus mushrooms. In certain areas, you can find dwarf trees that look more like shrubs: Kuzmishchev birch, Gmelin, undersized, shrubby, oval-leaved andFar East. They grow mainly in forest-tundra zones, in swampy areas in the forest.
Dahurian birch
Dark-skinned tree species are widespread in the Far East, although some of them can be admired in Eastern Siberia. These include Dahurian birch. A tree with an openwork crown grows up to 25 m in height. The main difference from other species is the original bark: in young birches it is pinkish in color, in old birches it is dark gray, less often black-brown, with cracks along the fibers. The birch bark can periodically flake off and partially fall off, the remaining part, which hangs in shreds, creates a curly effect. The dark green leaves of the Dahurian (black) oval birch acquire a yellow-brown hue by autumn. Flowering begins immediately after the leaves open. The growing season is shorter than other species.
Birch groves
In the mountains of the Black Sea coast south of Tuapse and the Rion basin, there are small forests of Medvedev's birch. Due to good rooting of branches, this species often grows on slopes, new daughter trees are formed from rooted shoots.
Unusual view near the grove formed by the Radde birch with red-pink birch. The only representative of sharp trees in Russia is Maksimovich's birch, found only on the southernmost island of Kunashir (Kuril Ridge).
Moscow Collection
In the Main Botanical Garden of the capital of allonly two varieties of North American dark-bark trees stand out in the collection. How different they are from our white birches! Only the presence of numerous earrings, typical for this plant, indicate that we have before us the sister of our birch. There are also trees with golden shiny birch bark. This is one of the North American species.
Now you know how many birch species grow around the globe and that Russia has become the richest country in birch species.
