Birch

The Birch and the sun share their dark spots

Birch is a pale wood species, softer than Oak. The wood is pale cream in color and has a wavy figuring with clear knots. This wood species ambers over time. Birch is used to make furniture and flooring as well as for carpentry work. It is also perfect for making fires, with a high fuel value and a pleasant smell. Kährs Birch flooring creates light, airy rooms, highlighting furniture.

Growing at the Arctic Circle

The Birch family consists of 60 species. Birch is easy to recognize thanks to its white trunk with black spots. The high sugar content in the wood means that Birch trees are able to withstand cold extremely well. It can even survive near the Arctic Circle.

Find out more about Birch here:

The most common tree in Sweden is a pioneer

Birch is what is known as a pioneer tree, growing after storms, forest fires or deforestation. Birch has a white trunk with black spots. There are around 60 different species of Birch. However, only three of these are indigenous to Sweden and only two of these are used for furniture and flooring: Silver Birch and White Birch. The various Birch species can interbreed with one another.

Birch is a monoecious plant. The male flowers — the catkins — spend the winter naked and look like little, 1” (2.5 cm) pods hanging on the tips of the branches of the naked Birch.

A tough survivor

A big part of the Birch tree can actually be consumed directly or processed. You can make a tea rich in vitamin C from the leaves. From the sap you can make syrup, similar to Maple syrup. The sap can also be fermented to make an alcoholic drink. The winter buds of the Birch can be eaten raw or boiled. When it comes to survival, the Birch is one of the 14 most important wild plant species.

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  • Birch (Lat. Betula)

  • Family: Birch (Lat. Betulaceae)

  • Size: Birch can grow up to 30 m in height. The trunk can grow to around 5 m in circumference.

  • Ready to cut down: 60-80 years

  • Origin of Kährs Birch flooring: Sweden

  • Hardness: Softer than Oak. Brinell value: 2.6

  • Color change: Pale creamy color of birch becomes a reddish yellow with age.

  • Random fact: Birch has high sugar content. You can make a tea rich in vitamin C from its leaves and you can eat the buds. When it comes to survival, Birch is one of the 14 most important wild plant species.