Materials for Design

European Birch (Betula pendula)

Birch trees are good peelers, which is why birch is one of the best-known timbers for plywood. Apart from the fact that it can be easily sliced, another reason for such widespread use in plywood is that birch is a hardwood that is dense, strong and straight with a fine, pale brown colour that means it can easily be stained and finished to fit varied applications. It is its visual blandness that allows it to be so adaptable and to be stained to look like other, heavier woods, such as maple or cherry, making it extremely versatile in designs where light-coloured wood is required.

Birch trees were among the first to recolonize the rocky, ice-scoured landscapes after the glaciers of the last ice age receded; therefore ...