Finnish trees

Pirkko Juvonen designed the stamps

Pirkko Juvonen designed the stamps on the spruce, pine and birch. The face value of the stamps is 2.50, 3.50 and 0.60 euro respectively.
The stamps are valid as domestic postage for 2nd class maxi letters up to 250 grams, 1st class letters up to 1000 grams and 1st class letters up to 50 grams.

Norway spruce

The tall Norway spruce (2.50 euro) can be considered as green gold of Finland, used as industrial timber and raw material for paper and pulp. The thick, dark spruce dominates the Finnish landscape. It is a familiar and close part of Finnish everyday life and feast days, growing in the yard or decorated as a Christmas tree.

Scots pine

The Scots pine (3.50 euro) is the only pine species in Finland and an important raw material for the Finnish forest industry. The pine has been used as building material, and also as a source of tar, turpentine and pettu (survival food from the pine bark). The pine has its own important place in the Finnish culture. It lives in literature and arts.

Birch

The Finnish forest industry has taken up to a contradictory attitude towards the birch (0.60 euro). On the one hand, it has been considered as valuable as the spruce and pine, but on the other hand it has been felled and replaced with better trees. The birch is an essential part of Finnish summer and lakeside landscape. Bath whisks for sauna are made of it, and at midsummer it is used as an outdoor decoration. Many utility goods used to be made of birch, and even the best known furniture of the famous architect Alvar Aalto is made of birch. The silver birch was nominated for Finland's national tree in 1988.
Postage stamp issue: 1 January 2002