Newsletter Index > Adventure Tidings e-Newsletter, April 2010
Dwarf Birch: The Little Bush with a Big Attitude!
by Dustin Davis
Betula nana, known as "Dwarf Birch", is a cool plant for so many reasons and happens to be one of my favorites. First, its name “dwarf” may mean “little” and at a maximum height of 1.5 meters they are indeed dwarfed. However, this name is also the namesake of a race of mythic beings, so often visited in our literary history that if a Dwarf was to reach up and shake your hand, you would be more apt to consider yourself lucky, than crazy. Dwarfs, the mystical creature variety, grace the pages of such famed narratives as J.R. Tolkien’s, “The Lord of the Rings” and countless other works of fantasy fiction. In my mind, this folkloric association alone gives dwarf birch some serious swagger.
Also, where they live is really great. Dwarf birches are particularly successful in the sub-alpine transitional zone here in the Yukon, living between the land of forests and alpine. Likewise they thrive at the edge of the tundra, or in isolated pockets across Northern Canada. Here in the Yukon if you are standing in a field of dwarf birch bushes……..the view is likely pretty good. Mountain tops are possibly rising up around you and since dwarf birches like south facing slopes you may be soaking up some northern rays at the same time. Don’t forget to look for dinner on the ground as you stare at the mountains with the sun on your face. Like other members of the birch family, such as alders, dwarf birch often have symbiotic relationships with fungi who help them to fix nitrogen by exchanging nutrients in their roots. One such family of fungi, the bolete mushrooms are known to enter into these exchanges with dwarf birches, so keep your eyes peeled. Make sure you know your mushrooms well before you eat any though……or you just might start seeing Dwarfs of the mythical variety……..and perhaps a dragon or two as well.
Finally, they may be called “dwarf”, but there is nothing diminutive about their resistance when you are traveling on foot and trying to make progress through a sea of 1 meter ( 3 feet) high dwarf birch bushes. And heaven forbid, if the Dwarf Birches have asked their good friends, the Willows to join their party.....well let's just say you will wish you had been born a moose.
Lastly, dwarf birches are simply the most elegant of the sub-alpine bushes. From their perfectly formed leaves to the impressive cloak of crimson red they wear in late summer, the dwarf birch is a giant contender among my favorite Yukon plants!
I hope you too get to experience the devilish charm of a dwarf birch bush in the Yukon real soon!
Cheers,
- Dustin Davis -
