Betula murrayana commonly known as Murray birch, is a critically endangered species of small birch that is endemic to Washtenaw County, Michigan in the United States and St. Williams, Norfolk County, Ontario, in Canada.[3][4][5][6]
Its leaves are 5–11 centimeters × 3–6 centimeters.[7]
It is a evolutionarily recent species that arose through hybridization between Betula alleghaniensis and another hybrid, Betula x purpusii (a hybrid of B. alleghaniensis and Betula pumila).[1]
It was named by Burton V. Barnes and Bruce P. Dancik, in Canadian Journal of Botany 63(2):223-226, in 2011.[8]
Only two sites are known, which are 320 km (200 miles apart); suggesting no gene flow. The Ontario population's size is unknown (but assumed to be less than 10 individuals), while the Michigan population has only one surviving individual. However, it is highly likely that future populations will be found along the Great Lakes or St. Lawrence Valley, as there are many areas where the parent species overlap, and the species is a natural hybrid.[1]
The Holden Arboretum, the University of Michigan, and Matthaei Botanical Gardens all have propagated seedlings from cuts of the Michigan individual, which could be sued to conserve this species if it is faced with extinction.[1][2]
Betula murrayana commonly known as Murray birch, is a critically endangered species of small birch that is endemic to Washtenaw County, Michigan in the United States and St. Williams, Norfolk County, Ontario, in Canada.
