Participant Info

Species

Betula occidentalis [Betula fontinalis]

Family

Betulaceae

CommonName

water birch

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1934

LatestDate

2004

Ecosystem

foothill

Geobotanical

SSanjuans, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Costilla, Mineral, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

Comments

NEED IN SITU PHOTOS. Most records of water birch in the Watershed are from the foothills of the north Cristos, but one is near Tucker Ponds in Mineral Co, and another from Uracca cemetery near Alamosa (maybe planted). Sharples (2017) records it as rare on the western (San Juan drainage) slope of the South San Juans in Archuleta Co. The tree follows the Rio Grande drainage only two counties into New Mexico. Its USA distribution includes all states west of the Great Plains.

Annotation