Betulaceae

Betulaceae, the birch family, includes six genera of <a href="/facts/Deciduous/7jQHVtdd">deciduous</a> <a href="/facts/Nut_(fruit)/HvHpVkod">nut</a>-bearing <a href="/facts/Tree/HVVn3srN">trees</a> and <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrubs</a>, including the <a href="/facts/Birch/XG0bl0GF">birches</a>, <a href="/facts/Alder/KbD9YG8w">alders</a>, <a href="/facts/Hazel/K0gposzR">hazels</a>, <a href="/facts/Hornbeam/e58r4CEP">hornbeams</a>, <a href="/facts/Ostryopsis/atSUR0Ku">hazel-hornbeam</a>, and <a href="/facts/Ostrya/kEnuK6NX">hop-hornbeams</a>, numbering a total of 167 species. They are mostly natives of the temperate <a href="/facts/Northern_Hemisphere/EFwyqL25">Northern Hemisphere</a>, with a few species reaching the <a href="/facts/Southern_Hemisphere/QfJ4z9L5">Southern Hemisphere</a> in the <a href="/facts/Andes/a4wlgG3e">Andes</a> in <a href="/facts/South_America/PhrFEMk7">South America</a>. Their typical flowers are <a href="/facts/Catkins/PPE9klav">catkins</a> and often appear before leaves.
In the past, the family was often divided into two families, Betulaceae (Alnus, Betula) and Corylaceae (the rest). Recent treatments, including the <a href="/facts/Angiosperm_Phylogeny_Group/HPTcwEPr">Angiosperm Phylogeny Group</a>, have described these two groups as subfamilies within an expanded Betulaceae: Betuloideae and <a href="/facts/Coryloideae/15M9Vrk1">Coryloideae</a>.
Betulaceae flowers are monoecious, meaning that they have both male and female flowers on the same tree. Their flowers present as catkins and are small and inconspicuous, often with reduced perianth parts. These flowers have large feathery stamen and produce a high volume of pollen, as they rely on wind pollination. Their leaves are simple, with alternate arrangement and doubly serrate margins.

Betulaceae open-in-new

Betulaceae