70. Betula utilis D. Don var. jacquemontii (Spach) Winkler BETULACEAE

Himalayan silver birch, Jacquemont’s birch; Hindi: bhojpattra, भोजपत्र

Herbarium label written on a strip of birch bark, 1864, from the Cleghorn Collection

Victor Jacquemont

The specific name of this tree refers to its usefulness. Its wood is used for building purposes, and its bark as writing paper – including labels for dried plant specimens. The species occurs over a wide range of the Sino-Himalaya, but the white-barked var. jacquemontii is restricted to the Western Himalaya. The varietal name commemorates Victor Jacquemont (1801–1832), an intrepid French botanist who explored northern India (including Kashmir) between 1829 and an untimely death in Bombay. This specimen of the cultivar named ‘Inverleith’ was planted by Prince Charles, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of the Queen, on 9 May 2012.