What are the characteristics of birch wood?

The bark of all birches are characteristically marked with long horizontal lenticels, and often separates into thin papery plates, especially upon the Paper Birch. It is practically imperishable, due to the resinous oil which it contains. It's decided color gives the common names gray, white, black, silver and yellow birch to different species.

The buds form early and are full grown by midsummer, all are lateral, no terminal bud is formed; the branch is prolonged by the upper lateral bud.

The wood of all the species is close-grained with satiny texture and capable of taking a fine polish; its fuel value is fair.

The leaves of the different species are all alternate, doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate, and stipulate. They often appear in Pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like two-leaved lateral branchlets