Betula occidentalis odorless when scraped. The leaves are alternate, ovate to rhombic, long and broad, with a serrated margin and two to six pairs of veins, and a short petiole up to long. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins long, the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit is long and broad, composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts. The identity of similar birches in Alaska is disputed; some include them in "B. occidentalis", while others regard them as hybrids between "Betula neoalaskana" and "Betula glandulosa". Some Plateau Indian tribes used water birch to treat pimples and
Cryptomeria Cryptomeria Cryptomeria (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae, formerly belonging to the family Taxodiaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica (syn. "Cupressus japonica" L.f.). It is endemic to Japan, where it is known as sugi (). The tree is called Japanese sugi pine or Japanese red-cedar in English. It is a very large evergreen tree, reaching up to tall and trunk diameter, with red-brown bark which peels in vertical strips. The leaves are arranged spirally, needle-like, long; and the seed cones globular, diameter with about 20–40 scales. It is superficially similar