Betula utilis D.on

In the present study reproductive biology and genetic diversity of Betula utilis was carried out from different areas of North West Himalayas. The present study determines the impact of the habitat variability and altitudinal gradient on the morphological, phenological and reproductive features of the species. Plants at low elevation had larger seeds which decrease with the increasing altitude. The plants were more vigorous at lower altitudes. Larger flowers, lower pollen-ovule ratios, fewer ovules per female flower, and longer periods of anthesis were reported in higher altitudes. Genetic diversity, structure and interrelationships of different accessions from NorthWestern Himalayan regions were analyzed using Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) and Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers. Dendrogram that was constracted grouped all the accessions into two clusters. Bayesian clustering using STRUCTURE grouped all the accessions in two clusters and separated majority of accessions belonging to Jammu & Kashmir Himalaya from other accessions of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand Himalaya.