Curly Birch: A Variety or a Separate Species?

Curly (Karelian) birch is a unique and highly valuable representative of woody flora, whose natural growth has been preserved only in the north-west of continental Europe. The article recapitulates the development of views on the taxonomic status and systematic position of the birch. We have analyzed the numerous facts and observations, which, from our perspective, bear record to correspondence of curly birch to the species taxonomic rank. It was done based on our own and published data, and in accordance with generally accepted criteria of the species (morphological, biochemical, genetic, reproductive, geographical, and ecological). The issues of separateness and relatedness of the birch to other representatives of the genus Betula L. are considered. It is emphasized that the recognition of curly birch as a separate biological species is important not only for scientific reasons, but also has great environmental significance since international and national nature protection documents, regulations and laws are focused on animals and plants with a species status. For citation: Vetchinnikova L. V., Titov A. F. Curly Birch: A Variety or a Separate Species? Lesnoy Zhurnal [Russian Forestry Journal], 2020, no. 1, pp. 26–48. DOI: 10.37482/0536-1036-2020-1-26-48 Funding: The study was carried out within the framework of the state assignment of the Karelian Research Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Forest Research Institute, Institute of Biology, and Department of Multidisciplinary Scientific Research) and covered by the federal budget.