About

Betula chichibuensis, commonly known as Chichibu birch (Chichibu-Minebari in Japanese), is a species of birch native exclusively to limestone outcrops in the Okuchichibu and Kitakami Mountains of central and northeast Honshu, Japan. The tree is rated as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its extreme rarity and limited range.

In 1993, only 21 B. chichibuensis trees existed in the wild. Although several other small populations of the tree were discovered in the 2010s, including the Kitakami populations, the Chichibu birch remains very rare. Ex situ conservation efforts to prevent the species' extinction are ongoing, including at the University of Liverpool's Ness Botanic Gardens and the Bedgebury National Pinetum.

Where it grows

Chichibu birches are extremely rare in the wild, growing only on a handful of limestone outcrops in the mountains of the Japanese island of Honshu. From their first description as a distinct species by Hiroshi Hara in 1965 up until roughly 2015, B. chichibuensis had been found exclusively in a single stand in the Okuchichibu Mountains (Chichibu Tama Kai National Park), where only 21 Chichibu birches were counted in 1993. As of 2017, at least eight additional small stands of B. chichibuensis were found by Dr. Toshihide Hirao, mostly in the Kitakami Mountains of northeast Honshu.

Other Betula plants

Betula utilis subsp. albosinensis · Yellow birch · Himalayan birch · Betula austrosinensis · Betula celtiberica · China birch · Hearleaf Birch · Korean Birch · Asian Black Birch · Erman's Birch · Japanese bog birch · Resin birch