Birch leaves (Betula alba), as well as A0, A2, B2and C soils can only rarely indicate the underlying rock type. Plants may show only anomalous concentrations of characteristic elements such as Ca above limestone and Cr or Ni above gabbro. If the plant compositions are used to distinguish types of basement rock, they could differentiate slightly between limestone and quartzite, limestone and granite, and porphyrite and granite, using their Ti, Al and Cu data, respectively. B2soil analyses could differentiate between limestone and silicate rocks in the basement, using Ca or Mg data. Plants have also a limited capacity to reflect the underlying soil, only Fe data are highly correlated with those of C and A0soil. Compositional correlations between plants and soil or rock are strongest in wetlands. 3 out of 5 such sites have anomalous contents of some metal in both birch and soil.