Plantae > Tracheophyta > Magnoliopsida > Fagales > Betulaceae > Betula > Betula utilis

Betula utilis (Indian Paper Birch)

Synonyms: Betula bhojpattra; Betula utilis var. typica; Betula utilis var. utilis

Wikipedia Abstract

Betula utilis (Himalayan birch, bhojpatra, Sanskrit: भूर्ज bhūrja) is a birch tree native to the Himalayas, growing at elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft). The specific epithet, utilis, refers to the many uses of the different parts of the tree. The white, paper-like bark of the tree was used in ancient times for writing Sanskrit scriptures and texts. It is still used as paper for the writing of sacred mantras, with the bark placed in an amulet and worn for protection. Selected varieties are used for landscaping throughout the world, even while some areas of its native habitat are being lost due to overuse of the tree for firewood.
View Wikipedia Record: Betula utilis

Infraspecies

Betula utilis albosinensis (Chinese red birch) (Attributes)
Betula utilis jacquemontii (Attributes)
Betula utilis occidentalis (Attributes)
Betula utilis utilis

Attributes

Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-High
Flower Type [2]  Monoecious
Leaf Type [2]  Deciduous
Pollinators [2]  Wind
Specific Gravity [3]  0.58
Structure [2]  Tree
Usage [2]  A paper is made from the inner bark; The outer bark can be carefully peeled off the tree (this does not harm the tree) and used as a paper; The outer bark can also be used as a waterproofing and for roofing houses; The bark is sometimes used as an incense; Wood - tough, even grained, moderately hard, elastic. Used for construction;
Height [2]  66 feet (20 m)
View Plants For A Future Record : Betula utilis

Predators

Larerannis orthogrammaria[4]
Oligotrophus skuhravae[5]
Oligotrophus tardus[5]
Stigmella sakhalinella[5]
Tetrastes sewerzowi (Severtzov's Grouse)[6]

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Derived from Allergy-Free Gardening OPALS™, Thomas Leo Ogren (2000)
♦ 2Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
♦ 3Chave J, Coomes D, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Swenson NG, Zanne AE (2009) Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Ecology Letters 12: 351-366. Zanne AE, Lopez-Gonzalez G, Coomes DA, Ilic J, Jansen S, Lewis SL, Miller RB, Swenson NG, Wiemann MC, Chave J (2009) Data from: Towards a worldwide wood economics spectrum. Dryad Digital Repository.
♦ 4HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
♦ 5Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants
♦ 6Wang, J., Fang, Y., Klaus, S., & Sun, Y. H. (2012). Winter foraging strategy of the Chinese Grouse (Bonasa sewerzowi): ecological and physiological factors. Journal of ornithology, 153(2), 257-264.
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0