diffuse porous page

DIFFUSE POROUS BIRCH

NOTE: unless otherwise specifically stated, all of the images shown on this
page are of 1/4" square end grain cross sections shown at 12X with the top
of the image towards the bark and the bottom towards the pith so that
earlywood is towards the bottom of the growth rings and latewood is towards the top

to see all species with links to their anatomy page go here: species links

general characteristics of birch end grain

• pores: uniformly small throughout the growth ring, sometimes in radial multiples, often hard to discern with the naked eye but normally visible with a 10X loupe; most of the samples on this page show pores in multiples but they are hard to make out because my samples are only sanded to 1200 grit and my dust removal is poor so the multiples often appear as fuzzy vertical groups
• parenchyma: margiinal (or seemingly marginal) parenchyma clearly present in most species
• rays: present but usually too thin/weak to be seen even with a 10X loupe. The rays are thinner than the diameter of all but the smallest pores
• growth rings: range from clearly distinguishable to the naked eye all the way to barely distinguishable with a 10X loupe

   

   

• birch / Betula spp. --- classic diffuse porous and with clear marginal parenchyma growth ring boundaries, discernible both with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye
• birch / Betula spp. --- classic diffuse porous and with clear marginal parenchyma growth ring boundaries, discernible both with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye


• birch / Betula spp. --- relatively sparse pores and with a darker area at the end of the latewood that makes the growth ring boundary show up clearly; marginal parenchyma is vague
• birch / Betula spp.. --- classic diffuse porous and with clear marginal parenchyma growth ring boundaries, discernible both with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye

   

• European white birch / Betula alba --- classic diffuse porous marginal parenchyma, discernible with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye
• Erman's birch / Betula ermanii

     

• European white birch / Betula pendula --- classic diffuse porous, obvious marginal parenchyma, discernible both with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye. Radial multiples are plentiful although they are hard to make out
• mazur birch / Betula spp. --- slightly less dense pores that other samples, marginal parenchyma very vague, invisible to the naked eye
• mazur birch / Betula spp. --- slightly less dense pores that other samples, marginal parenchyma very vague, invisible to the naked eye

   

   

• gray birch / Betula populifolia --- classic diffuse porous, obvious marginal parenchyma, discernible both with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye
• gray birch / Betula populifolia --- relatively sparse pores, obvious marginal parenchyma, discernible both with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye


• gray birch / Betula populifolia --- classic diffuse porous, marginal parenchyma lines quite clear with a 10X loupe but hard to see with the naked eye because the color is so similar to the surrounding tissue
• gray birch / Betula populifolia --- classic diffuse porous, marginal parenchyma lines quite clear with a 10X loupe but hard to see with the naked eye because the color is so similar to the surrounding tissue

     

• European white birch / Betula pubescens --- just slightly ulmiform pore groupings and marginal parenchyma that is very clear at 10X but very faint to the naked eye
• European white birch / Betula pubescens --- just slightly ulmiform pore groupings and marginal parenchyma that is very clear at 10X and discernable to the naked eye
• European white birch / Betula pubescens --- just slightly ulmiform pore groupings and marginal parenchyma that is very clear at 10X but invisible to the naked eye

     

• Himalayan whitebarked birch / Betula utilis --- plentiful pores in radial multiples (although they are hard to make out), marginal parenchyma quite clear
• Himalayan whitebarked birch / Betula utilis --- plentiful pores in radial multiples (although they are hard to make out), marginal parenchyma quite clear
• Himalayan birch / Betula utilis --- plentiful pores in radial multiples (although they are hard to make out), marginal parenchyma extremely vague

     

• Japanese white birch / Betula platyphylla --- plentiful pores in radial multiples (although they are hard to make out), marginal parenchyma quite clear, pores are densely grouped in what could be mistaken for ulmiform bands
• monarch birch / Betula maximowicziana --- marginal parenchyma lines don't differ much in color from the rest of the rings but fairly easy to see with a 10X loupe, harder to see with the naked eye. Pores in radial multiples are plentiful although they are hard to make out
• monarch birch / Betula maximowicziana --- marginal parenchyma lines don't differ much in color from the rest of the rings but fairly easy to see with a 10X loupe, harder to see with the naked eye. Pores in radial multiples are plentiful although they are hard to make out

   

   

• paper birch / Betula papyrifera --- classic diffuse porous, marginal parenchyma obvious with a 10X loupe and to the naked eye. Radial multiples are plentiful although they are hard to make out
• paper birch / Betula papyrifera --- classic diffuse porous, marginal parenchyma fairly easy to see with a 10X loupe, much harder with the naked eye


• paper birch / Betula papyrifera --- classic diffuse porous, marginal parenchyma fairly easy to see with a 10X loupe, much harder with the naked eye
• paper birch / Betula papyrifera

     

• river birch / Betula nigra --- this has the classic diffuse porous look but with marginal parenchyma that is very hard to make out with a 10X loupe and invisible to the naked eye
• river birch / Betula nigra --- this has the classic diffuse porous look but with marginal parenchyma that is very hard to make out with a 10X loupe and invisible to the naked eye
• river birch / Betula nigra --- this is from a sample that had a lot of white rot and was punky

   

• sweet birch / Betula lenta --- slightly fewer and slightly smaller pores at the end of the latewood, marginal parenchyma is obvious
• sweet birch / Betula lenta --- pores in radial multiples are plentiful although they are hard to make out, marginal parenchyma clear with a 10X loupe but hard to see with the naked eye

     

• black birch / Betula lenta --- pore multiples present but hard to make out, marginal parenchya fairly clear due to slight change in color of surrounding tissue
• black birch / Betula lenta
• black birch / Betula lenta --- very weak marginal parenchyma

   

• sweet birch / Betula spp. --- very weak marginal parenchyma
• sweet birch / Betula spp. --- this sample was rift with white rot, thus the weird color streaking

     

• water birch / Betula occidentalis --- slightly fewer and possibly smaller pores at the end of the latewood, marginal parenchyma quite clear
• water birch / Betula occidentalis --- classical diffuse porous look, marginal parenchyma quite clear
• water birch / Betula occidentalis --- classical diffuse porous look, marginal parenchyma quite clear

   

• Western birch / Betula occidentalis --- pores in radial multiples are plentiful although they are hard to make out, marginal parenchyma quite clear
• Western birch / Betula occidentalis

     

   

• yellow birch / Betula alleghaniensis
• yellow birch / Betula alleghaniensis
• yellow birch / Betula alleghaniensis --- classic diffuse porous look with slightly less pore density than the other samples, marginal parenchym lines fairly clear


• yellow birch / Betula alleghaniensis --- unusually sparse pores, marginal parenchyma quite clear and with an obvious line of pores just after the beginning of the earlywood which is somewhat rare with birch but not unique to this sample
• yellow birch / Betula alleghaniensis

   

• yellow birch / Betula spp.
• yellow birch / Betula spp.

     

• blue birch / Betula caerulea var grandis --- pores somewhat grouped in horizontal lines, marginal parenchyma very faint and of similar color to surrounding tissue, so while they are clear at 10X they will likely be hard to see with the naked eye
• blue birch / Betula caerulea var grandis --- pores somewhat grouped in horizontal lines although less so than the sample to the left, obvious marginal parenchyma and with a consistent line of pores right at the beginning of the earlywood
• blue birch / Betula caerulea var grandis --- not one of my better jobs of fine-sanding, pores are vague and somewhat in horizontal lines, obvious marginal parenchyma and with a consistent line of pores right at the beginning of the earlywood

   

• mountain birch / Betula cordifolia --- marginal parenchyma lines are present but so unobtrusive they could easily be overlooked
• tian-shan birch / Betula tianshanica --- marginal parenchyma lines are present very hard to see with the naked eye

   

• Japanese cherry birch / Betula grossa --- unusually sparse pores and ill-defined growth ring boundaries with no apparent marginal parenchyma
• Japanese cherry birch / Betula grossa --- unusually sparse pores, no apparent marginal parenchyma (but the growth rings are discernible)