| Asian White Birch - Betula platyphylla Family Betulaceae - Alders, Birches, Hornbeams This outstanding ornamental boasts snow-white bark and outstanding yellow fall color. Tree Encyclopedia | Tree Index | Rosaceae Index | Rose Family | Oak & Beech Family | |
Birch grows in climates ranging from boreal to humid and tolerates wide variations in precipitation. Its northern limit of growth is arctic Canada and Alaska, in boreal spruce woodlands, in mountain and sub alpine forests of the western United States, the Great Plains, and in coniferous - deciduous forests of the Northeast and Great Lakes states. Separate male and female flowers are borne on the same tree; the male in the form of a catkin, and the female in cone-like clusters that fall from the tree and are blown for long distances by the wind. In the fall, the foliage turns pale yellow. Asian White Birch, Morton Arboretum acc. 578-2000*2, from seed, is 10 years old [1]. The bark of the Asian white birch is used in traditional herbal remedies as a tonic, haemetic, and to reduce inflammation. Chemical components with ascribed anti-fungal properties: Triterpenoids; lupeol, betulin, betulafolianediol, betulafolienetriol, oleanolic acid, platyphyllin, platypyllonol, betuloside, betuligenol, paeonol, betulafolienetetraol, betulafolienepentaol. Flavonoids; myricetin, myricitrin, hemiphloin, hyperoside [2]. The antioxidant and anticancer properties of Betula platyphylla var. japonica are also being investigated. [3] |
Family Betulaceae - Alders, Birches, Hornbeams The birches have long been popular ornamental trees in North America, chiefly in the northern United States and Canada. Several are native Americans, but many species have been introduced from Europe and Asia. Our specimens include river birch, Dahurian birch, paper birch, Arctic birch, Manchurian birch, Manchurian alder, downy birch, Japanese white birch, and 10 other species. Tree Encyclopedia | Trees Index | Elms & Zelkovas | Birch Index |