Karelian birch souvenirs are Russias national treasure. Karelian birch does not exist anywhere else, but Russia. In many celebrity homes, belonging to Madonna, designer Montagne, and obviously, in Rudolf Nurievs Paris apartment, you will find objects made from the wonderful Karelian birch. Karelian birch is the symbol Karelia, a northern Russian republic covered by lakes and forests. In terms of classification, Karelian Birch (Betula Pendula Roth, f. carelica) is a subdivision of warty birch (Betula verrucosa). It grows individually or in small clusters. It is a short tree that reaches 5 to 7 meters in height, and occasionally grows as a shrub. The bark is rough with bumps and circular protuberances. The wood has a distinctive cut, and this is the reason it is used for making furniture, and souvenirs. The artificial cultivation of Karelian birch goes as far back as 1930s. It is still grown today. Karelian birch is a tree that was gifted by a nature a wood of extraordinary beauty, whose pattern mimics that of marble. It can be distinguished from an ordinary birch by its trunk, which is not as straight, and amply covered by bumps and ridges. Karelian birch grows slower than the ordinary kind, and its distinctive characteristics may appear only after a few decades, and then become more obvious with age. Only 30-40 percent of the seeds produce Karelian birch. The rest grow up to be ordinary trees.
Sizes:
- pen is 6 inches
- the stand is approx. 2.1/2-3 inches in diameter. The pen and the stand made by hand so all measurements are approximate.
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