The hardest tree species growing on the territory of Russia is Schmidt birch or Betula schmidtii - a representative of the Birch genus, belonging to the Birch family. This plant species is also recognized as one of the rarest growing in the country.
Where does Schmidt's birch grow
The plant, which got its name in honor of the famous botanist Fyodor Schmidt, who first found this species and described it, grows in the Far East of Russia. And only in the southern half of the Primorsky Territory.
The name of Fyodor Bogdanovich Schmidt, thanks to his scientific activity, was captured not only in the name of the plant, but also in the name of one of the Sakhalin peninsulas, the mountain near Norilsk and the Kamchatka volcano.
More rarely, but still, Schmidt birches are found in China (northeastern provinces of Jilin and Liaoning), in Japan (on the island of Honshu), as well as in the northern lands of the Korean Peninsula.
One of the features of the life of the Schmidt birch is extremely slow growth in the early years of life. This type of plant can reach a maximum age of 300-350 years.
Craftsmen, who knew about the amazing properties of Schmidt's birch, called it “iron birch”. This nickname was obtained both because the wood of the plant is very hard (it cannot be pierced by a bullet of a standard caliber), and because birch resists fire very well.
Schmidt birch has never been used for the construction of rafts or ships, since, due to its high weight and hardness, it sinks very quickly in water.
Other features of Schmidt birch
The height of an adult plant of this species is usually 25-27 meters, and the maximum described height of a birch reached 35 meters. The trunk diameter is from 70 to 80 centimeters.
The bark of Schmidt birch is usually covered with very deep cracks and is characterized by strong peeling and flaking of the top layer of the tree. Its color is usually cream, beige, but in young individuals it can be deep brown, and the youngest branches of the plant are often painted in cherry or purple-brown shades.
In adult birches of this species, resinous glands on the surface are also frequent.
The leaves of the Schmidt birch are ovoid, oval-elliptical or elliptical in shape. They are usually 4-9 centimeters long and 2.5-5 centimeters wide. On the leaves, which some botanists compare in appearance with the leaves of gray alder, you can also notice 7-10 pairs of veins sharply marked below. From above they are bald, and from below - with noticeable pubescence, short petiolate, most often irregularly or doubly serrated.
The length of the earrings is 2.5-3 centimeters, and the size of 200-300 wingless fruits that ripen by the end of summer or early autumn is about 2 millimeters.
