Yellow birch
(Betula alleghaniensis)
Range
Yellow birch grows in the Lake States, New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and along, the Appalachian Mountains into southern Georgia. It reaches its best development near the Canadian border, and more than half of the stand is located in Michigan. The largest amounts of lumber are produced in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Properties
Yellow birch is heavy, averaging 43 pounds a cubic foot, and hard, with specific gravity averaging 0.55. The wood is strong, stiff, and has very high shock resistance.
Yellow birch has very large shrinkage and must be seasoned carefully to prevent checking and warping. Like all commercial birches, it is low in decay resistance. Although the wood is difficult to work with handtools, it can be readily shaped by machine and ranks high in nail-withdrawal resistance.
Uses
Yellow birch is used principally for lumber, veneer, distilled products, and crossties. The lumber and veneer go mostly into furniture, boxes, baskets, crates, woodenware, interior finish, and general millwork. It is because of its pleasing grain pattern and ability to take a high polish, that yellow birch is widely used in the furniture industry. Spools, bobbins, and other turned articles are also important products.
Yellow birch is one of the principal woods used for hardwood distillation to produce wood alcohol, acetate of lime, charcoal, tar, and oils. It is used in smaller quantities for pulpwood and cooperage.
Description
Yellow birch heartwood is light reddish brown. Pores are very small, sometimes just barely visible on smoothly cut end-grain surfaces, and are uniformly distributed through the annual ring cross section. Pore lines are visible on longitudinal surfaces as very fine grooves that may even be seen through natural finishes. Wood rays may be seen only on quartersawed surfaces, where they appear to be of one size and of uniform height along the grain. Growth rings are moderately distinct on plainsawed surfaces.