People have long admired the Karelian birch, the wood of which is distinguished by a pattern that looks like marble. In ancient times, this material was even paid tribute, it was so highly valued. Palaces and houses of noble persons were decorated with products made of unique wood. Karelian birch can be distinguished from ordinary birch by the appearance and structure of the wood.
Karelian birch: fabulous patterns on wood
If you cut the trunk of a Karelian birch, you can make sure that in some places the wood really resembles marble or mother-of-pearl in texture. The veneer made of this tree amazes with the originality of the pattern. Usually, wood fibers are located, although along the trunk, but still with some bend. In places, the layers of material twist, as it were, intertwining with each other. Sometimes there are glitters contrasting with dark or yellow blotches.
When looking at a cut of specially selected wood, you can see a variety of shapes, reminiscent of stormy sea waves or a real mountain landscape. Often, a pattern on a Karelian birch looks like elongated tree leaves. The carver, if he tried to decorate a tabletop of a significant area with such material, would have had to work a lot, picking up and joining veneer sheets together. Natural bends and smooth transitions are unlikely to be achieved here, so original are the natural patterns of wood.
The appearance of the Karelian birch can hardly be called graceful. But behind the unprepossessing view, there is a genuine natural wealth. Looking at the unique patterns of the wood, one might think that it was not without the intervention of a skilled craftsman who skillfully worked on the trunk. The wood of the Karelian birch is also distinguished by enviable durability, almost does not give in to rotting and does not split.
What does a Karelian birch look like?
An attentive and inquisitive naturalist may well be able to distinguish Karelian birch from ordinary birch in appearance. These trees grow most often in groups, rather scattered, sometimes interspersed with ordinary birch. The plant does not differ in significant height, the average length of a noticeably curved trunk ranges from five to seven meters, although taller specimens can be found from time to time.
On a relatively thin trunk, as a rule, there are thickenings or growths, the bark is abundantly covered with cracks. A bushy form of such a birch is known, in which several trunks grow from a single root. This type of birch is distinguished by an increased love of sunlight. If a tree happens to grow next to more powerful trunks, it gradually bends, looking for a path to the light.
Karelian birch is so highly valued that it is under state protection. The plantings in nature are strictly taken into account, they are observed and studied by specialists-dendrologists. Scientists have not yet come to a consensus as to whether the Karelian birch is a separate form of its species or is a manifestation of some kind of morbid natural mutation.
