ˈbechələ noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin betula, betulla birch, from Gaulish betulla; akin to Middle Irish bethe, beithe box (tree), Welsh bedw birch, and to the (probably Celtic) source of Latin bitumen mineral pitch; from the use of the birch tree as a source of tar — more at cud
: a genus of north-temperate and arctic trees and shrubs (family Betulaceae) comprising the birches and having hard close-grained wood, alternate toothed leaves, monoecious flowers in catkins, the fruiting bracts 3-lobed or entire, thin, and deciduous, and the fruit a small samara