Birches

Postcard ID: FI-1777020
Country: Finland

The sender wrote that this is the typical Finnish summer. However when I found this card in my mailbox I thought that ths came to me from Russia. In my mind birch is absolutely Russian tree :)

Birch is a broadleaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams, and is closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The genus Betula contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN 2011 Red List of Threatened Species. They are typically rather short-lived pioneer species widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern temperate and boreal climates. This tree is sometimes called "The Watchful Tree" because of eye-like impressions on the bark.