Betulaceae

What science is finding about Betulaceae

Every article on Plant News that mentions a member of this family, newest first.

Latest finding

Trees need warm days, not just warm nights, to leaf out

Trees don't just count how much warmth they get in spring, they count when it arrives: daytime warmth triggers budburst far more effectively than the same warmth at night, and the pattern varies sharply by species.

European Hornbeam

A streamside native tree spotted on an ordinary Glendale street

If you walk near a creek or drainage channel in Southern California, white alder is likely one of the first native trees...

White alder native-plants / urban-ecology

Birch bark compound eases Alzheimer's damage by boosting cell defenses

The papery white bark peeling off birch trees in your yard contains a molecule that researchers just linked to protecting...

Birch medicinal-plants / ethnobotany

Tree bark's seasonal swelling can fool growth measuring instruments

If you've ever strapped a growth band around a favorite tree to track its progress, this explains why those numbers can...

European hop-hornbeam phenology / climate-adaptation

Warmer springs make some trees end their growing season sooner

If you've noticed the maples or lindens on your street coloring up earlier some years, this research suggests the culprit may...

European Hornbeam phenology / climate-adaptation

Birch trees on old farmland absorb metals without stunting their growth

If you're converting an old field or pasture into a woodlot, this study suggests birch can tolerate soils with lingering...

Silver Birch soil-health / phytoremediation

Birch bark hosts hidden microbe communities shaped by sun and pollution

Next time you walk past a birch tree, run your hand over the bark on its north side versus south side, you're touching two...

Birch urban-ecology / soil-health

New lab trick pulls more gene-control data from plant cells

The next breakthrough in drought-tolerant crops or disease-resistant trees may hinge on lab techniques like this one, which...

Birch plant-signaling / crop-improvement

A non-working root partner still helps alders survive copper pollution

The alder trees lining creek banks and reclaimed mine sites near you may owe their toughness to a root partner that doesn't...

Black Alder phytoremediation / soil-health

Shade limits understory trees far more than weather does

Shade-tolerant trees you plant beneath a canopy, like hornbeam or field maple, won't respond to a warm spell the way...

Hornbeam forest-ecology / phenology

Climate change could double spruce bark beetle generations and push spring a month earlier in Sweden

Bark beetles killing spruce trees across northern Europe are already a visible threat in many forests, and warmer summers...

Silver Birch phenology / climate-adaptation

Overlooked tree-root partnerships quietly maintain nitrogen in whole ecosystems

Alder trees lining the creek in your local park are quietly building soil fertility from scratch, no fertilizer required,...

Alder soil-health / nitrogen-fixation

Functional characterization of LbCDF-A, an ER-localized Zn transporter of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Laccaria bicolor

Every pine, oak, birch, and spruce you walk beneath relies on root fungi like Laccaria bicolor to mine zinc and other minerals...

Birch mycorrhizal-networks / soil-health

Restoration of alkaline spoil deposits at a highway construction site: woody plant responses to liming and organic soil amendments.

Roadsides and construction scars near your neighborhood could become functioning green corridors — and this research shows...

Hazel native-plants / soil-health

American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana) observed in Ravines Ct, Saugatuck, MI, US

American hophornbeam is one of the toughest native understory trees you can plant — its hop-like seed clusters feed birds...

American hophornbeam native-plants / urban-ecology

Facilitative Effects of Alnus viridis ssp. fruticosa on Betula nana ssp. exilis Growth in Arctic Alaska.

Watching which shrubs cluster together in wild landscapes isn't just aesthetics — this study shows that one nitrogen-fixing...

Dwarf birch climate-adaptation / native-plants

A longitudinal roadside study of the New Hampshire alder root nodule microbiome.

Alders are one of the few trees that can colonize a gravel pit or eroded streambank and actually rebuild the soil —...

Alder soil-health / native-plants

Pollen counting made easy: mobile pollen counter provides real-time results in the field.

Every spring when birch or oak pollen coats your car and sends allergy sufferers indoors, no one has had a fast, field-ready...

Birch pollinators / phenology

Genotype-dependent sulfur depletion is linked to antioxidant dysfunction and growth responses to As, Cd, and Pb in Alnus glutinosa.

The black alder trees lining your nearest contaminated creek or roadside detention pond may already be doing quiet cleanup...

Black Alder phytoremediation / soil-health

Mycorrhizal competition release and microbial dynamics in native and non-native Tuber melanosporum habitats.

Truffles are cultivated as a high-value crop by planting inoculated trees, and understanding whether non-native truffle...

Hazel mycorrhizal-networks / soil-health