Bjørk: The Birch tree
Plant group: NS 4402 Lauvtre (H7/ H8)
Betula pubescens
and B. pendula are the most common tree species in Norway. We find birch all
over the country, from the coast up to the alpine tree-line, and as far north
as Finnmark county. This is a useful tree that is suited for interior panelling
and construction of furniture. It is however most popular as firewood.
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| Illustration: Silver birch, 1922 Lindman, C.A.M., Bilder ur Nordens Flora |
The silver birch is a medium-sized deciduous tree, typically reaching 15 to 25 m tall (exceptionally up to 31 metres), with a slender trunk usually under 40 cm diameter. The bark on the trunk and branches is golden-brown at first, but later this turns to white as a result of papery tissue developing on the surface and peeling off in flakes, in a similar manner to the closely related Paper birch (B. papyrifera).
Betula pendula,
commonly known as silver birch, warty birch, European white birch, or East
Asian white birch, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to
Europe and parts of Asia, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher
altitudes. Its range extends into Siberia, China and southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey, the Caucasus and northern Iran.
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| Silver birch, Sandefjord, Norway, Roy Frankland |
The mountain birch is a sub species of the common birch and is found in the mountain areas of southern and northern Norway. The trees grow in areas up to 1580 meters above sea level where they make up the tree line. The birch wood and bark is known for its good qualities as firewood. In Norway the birch bark was used as roof material and the birch ash was traditionally used as reagent when preparing the typical Scandinavian fish-dish ‘lutefisk’.
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| Tree line of Mountain birch at 1500 m.o.h., Arendal Photo: Peter Prokosch, from World Forest Ecosystems |
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