Biology:Betulaceae

Short description: Family of flowering plants comprising hazel and birch trees

Betulaceae Temporal range: 70–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Black alder (Alnus glutinosa)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Fagales
Family:	Betulaceae Gray
Type genus
Betula L.
Subfamilies and genera
See text
The range of the Betulaceae

Catkins of the hazel (Corylus avellana)

Betulaceae, the birch family, includes six genera of deciduous nut-bearing trees and shrubs, including the birches, alders, hazels, hornbeams, hazel-hornbeam, and hop-hornbeams numbering a total of 167 species. They are mostly natives of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with a few species reaching the Southern Hemisphere in the Andes in South America. Their typical flowers are catkins 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 Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, have described these two groups as subfamilies within an expanded Betulaceae: Betuloideae and Coryloideae.

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.

Evolutionary history

The Betulaceae are believed to have originated at the end of the Cretaceous period (about 70 million years ago) in central China. This region at the time would have had a Mediterranean climate due to the proximity of the Tethys Sea, which covered parts of present-day Tibet and Xinjiang into the early Tertiary period. This point of origin is supported by the fact that all six genera and 52 species are native to this region, many of those being endemic. All six modern genera are believed to have diverged fully by the Oligocene, with all genera in the family (with the exception of Ostryopsis) having a fossil record stretching back at least 20 million years from the present.

According to molecular phylogeny, the closest relatives of the Betulaceae are the Casuarinaceae, or the she-oaks.

Uses

Corylus avellana foliage and nuts

The common hazel (Corylus avellana) and the filbert (Corylus maxima) are important orchard plants, grown for their edible nuts.

The other genera include a number of popular ornamental trees, widely planted in parks and large gardens; several of the birches are particularly valued for their smooth, brightly coloured bark.

The wood is generally hard, tough and heavy, hornbeams particularly so; several species were of significant importance in the past where very hard wood capable of withstanding heavy wear was required, such as for cartwheels, water wheels, cog wheels, tool handles, chopping boards, and wooden pegs. In most of these uses, wood has now been replaced by metal or other man-made materials.

Subfamilies and genera

Extant species

• Betuloideae
  • Alnus Mill. 1754 – alder
  • Betula L. 1753 – birch
• Coryloideae
  • Carpinus L. 1753 – hornbeam
  • Corylus L. 1753 – hazel
  • Ostrya Scop. 1760 – hop-hornbeam
  • Ostryopsis Decne. 1873 – hazel-hornbeam

Fossils

• †Asterocarpinus
• †Coryloides
• †Cranea
• †Kardiasperma
• †Palaeocarpinus

Phylogenetic systematics

Modern molecular phylogenetics suggest the following relationships:

	Myricaceae (outgroup)   Betulaceae Coryloideae    Corylus        Ostryopsis        Ostrya      Carpinus         Betuloideae    Alnus      Betula

References

Wikidata ☰ Q156064 entry