Slender beauties of birch, which can be found not only in forests, but also in city parks, on the streets and in public gardens, were once animated by the ancient Slavs and Druids and were considered sacred. The Birch family includes 6 genera of trees, which are divided into 234 species.
The most beloved and revered tree among the peoples of different countries was the birch tree. They dedicated poems to her, made up legends about her, used her medicinal juices and brought gifts. All trees that are part of the Birch family (representatives are hornbeam, alder, hazel, birch and others) have healing properties that are still used in medicine today.
Birch family
Anyone who has ever been to a birch grove knows that the air there is unusually clean. This is due to the fact that the leaves of this tree emit phytoncides - special antibacterial substances that can purify polluted air. People of antiquity knew this feature, and modern city planners used it to clean city streets from exhaust gases. That is why the most common tree in any public park is from the birch family. It also includes: hornbeam, hazel, alder, hopshornbeam and ostriopsis.
The well-known white birch is divided into warty and Fastigiata. The Birch family belongs to deciduous trees, wind-pollinated and monoecious.
The healing properties of birch
Birch leaves contain a large amount of vitamin C, and the buds contain essential oil. Birch contains saponin, acids, a bitter extractive substance, as well as tannins and other substances beneficial to the human body.
Birch has phytoncidal properties - the plant secretes protective substances that can kill microorganisms.
Vitamin, antiseptic (disinfecting), diuretic, anti-inflammatory, and anthelmintic drugs are prepared from birch. Also, medicines that regulate menstruation, the functional activity of the female genital organs and the gastrointestinal tract are made from birch.
Birch preparations are recognized by scientific medicine as a diuretic.
In folk medicine, birch leaves and buds, birch bark and birch sap are successfully used not only internally, but also externally. Birch leaves are used for kidney and bladder diseases.
Tincture of birch buds is used for skin diseases, acute rheumatism, inflammation of the liver and puerperal fever, and for peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum. A tincture of birch buds is prepared as follows: 50 grams of buds, infused for 10 days with 500 ml (1 bottle) of vodka. The patient is given 1/2-1 teaspoon of the tincture with water 3 times a day, 15-20 minutes before meals.
Tincture of birch buds causes a good appetite in the patient, promotes the healing of stomach and duodenal ulcers.
A decoction of birch leaves is recommended to be used to regulate the functional activity of the female genital organs, as well as for scanty menstruation.
As an antispasmodic agent, birch preparations are valuable for seizures. For toothache, apply cotton wool with tincture to the painful tooth.
For all of the listed diseases (except toothache), these drugs are used internally and externally.
A tincture of birch buds or a decoction of them, as well as a decoction of the leaves, is taken as an anthelmintic for pinworms and ascariasis. People use this tincture externally for bedsores.
Birch tar treats skin diseases. Photo: Grunewald Foraging
Birch tar is used to kill scabies mites. In addition, pure birch tar is used for diseases of the throat and lungs (bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, etc.). Tar is taken orally, 5-10 drops three times a day. Tar is used externally for skin diseases and wounds in the form of tar ointment: 1.5 grams of tar per 15 grams of paraffin or petroleum jelly.
People also use birch tar as a disinfectant: dripping it onto hot coals creates disinfectant gases and in this way disinfects the air.
You can make a decoction from young, freshly cut and finely chopped birch branches if you don’t have either buds or birch sap on hand (in winter, if they haven’t been prepared in the spring).
Lotions made from decoctions of birch leaves and buds or tincture of buds heal fresh wounds well, even deep ones.
Use a decoction of birch leaves to wash your hair if you have hair loss.
Birch warty
The silver birch (Betula verrucosa) grows in Europe, North America, Central Asia and North Africa. This tree reaches 30 m in height and can live up to 120 years or more. The bark of a young tree is brownish, but by the age of 8 it becomes white. It is for its color that it got its name. Translated from ancient Celtic, betu means “white,” which is why the dye in birch bark is called betulin.
The warty birch got its name due to the resinous glands located on its branches and looking like small warts. Leaves are what unites the Birch family. The general characteristic concerns, first of all, them. They are double-toothed, alternate, reaching a length of 4 to 7 cm, a width of 2 to 5 cm in most birch species. More often they are smooth or slightly covered with villi, but they are also found with “felt” pubescence.
The root system of the warty birch is powerful, but can be both superficial and deep. Prefers soil that is fertile, fertilized and rich in minerals. This tree blooms from April to May, the fruits (small nuts) ripen in August–September. Propagated by seeds.
Chemical composition of birch bark
Birch bark is heterogeneous. It consists of two clearly distinguishable layers: birch bark (white outer layer) and bast (inner layer). In medicine, birch bark is mainly used, which contains useful betulin. Bast contains much less substances important for the treatment of diseases.
The chemical composition of birch bark is very diverse:
- betulin, betulinic and betulonic acids;
- aldehydes;
- polysaccharides;
- tannins, resins;
- nicotinic and palmitic acids;
- wax;
- bioflavonoids;
- coumarin.
The use of birch bark in medicine is also due to the presence of many macro- and microelements useful for the human body, such as cobalt, calcium, vanadium, iron, strontium, selenium, boron, magnesium, barium and chromium.
Birch Fastigiata
This variety of warty birch differs from it in the structure of its crown. It is narrow and wedge-shaped, and the branches stretch upward, unlike its drooping “relative”. With a small height of only 10 m, Fastigiata (Birch family) has a very powerful root system and a wind-resistant trunk.
This tree grows very quickly - up to 40 cm per year, and its life expectancy rarely exceeds 100 years. The foliage is the same as that of warty birch, but lasts much longer, until late autumn. It blooms with small green, irregularly shaped flowers up to 1 cm long.
This tree tolerates both dry summers and cold winters equally well. Natural pests are chafer beetle, chimney beetle (beetle), Bucephalus corydalis, birch sapwood and nun moth.
Alder
Although alder is included in the Birch category, the family cannot boast of a more extraordinary tree than this. It is unique in everything:
- Firstly, it first blooms and then opens its leaves.
- Secondly, alder “opens” spring. Its flowering begins when there is still snow on the ground, and warmth is only anticipated in the air.
- Thirdly, its leaves do not turn yellow, but remain green in late autumn.
- Fourthly, alder foliage is so filled with nitrogen that it itself fertilizes the soil on which the tree grows.
- Fifthly, the unique property of its wood becoming harder under the influence of moisture makes it indispensable in the construction of wells and the manufacture of barrels.
Although there are up to 50 species of this tree, the two most common are black and gray alder. It got its name black (sticky is the second name) due to its trunk, which darkens as it matures. It is called sticky because of its leaves. Most often it grows alone or in a group of similar trees. Black alder begins to bloom in April, and the fruits fully ripen only after a year. Loves light and moisture.
Gray alder has not only a trunk of this color, but also leaves. It is unpretentious, frost-resistant and grows even on poor soil. Since gray alder tends to quickly grow into impenetrable thickets, it is most often planted to secure the banks and slopes of hollows and ravines.
Description
According to their descriptions, most species have a height of 30 to 45 meters, although very small specimens are often found: the height of the smallest tree in the world is from one to one and a half meters, and some shrubs even spread along the ground.
Once a tree sprouts, it grows extremely slowly in the first years, but the older it gets, the faster its growth rate. Birch roots are powerful and, depending on the type of soil, are either superficial or go at an angle deep into the ground. Birch has very high humidity in the spring: increased movement of sap begins inside the plant, when nutrients from the soil rush upward through the roots.
Many people collect plant sap at this time: they make cuts through which the liquid rushes out and can flow out for several weeks (a tall tree can produce about a bucket of sap in a day). As a result of this, the white birch is greatly depleted, and viruses enter it through wounds, which can cause the death of the plant. Therefore, after collecting the juice, the bark must be covered with clay or resin.
Birch leaves are alternate (arranged in a spiral, with one leaf coming from each node of the stem), whole, jagged along the edge, smooth, have a length of about seven and a width of four centimeters. In spring, young leaves are sticky, then this ability is gradually lost. Birch sheds its leaves in the fall, and before falling, the birch leaves turn yellow.
Hornbeam
The Birch family also includes hornbeam. China and Asia are considered its homeland. It thrives in both shade and sun, but prefers moist soil, so in dry summers it needs additional watering.
In terms of life expectancy, the hornbeam does not fit into the Birch family, the characteristics of which are generally the same, and the average reaches 100-120 years. The same tree easily lives up to 300 years, growing up to 30 m in height and up to 8 m in width.
The hornbeam blooms with small male and female inflorescences in the form of earrings, but begins to bear fruit only after 15-20 years. The wood of this tree is used to make furniture and kitchen utensils, but only after special treatment to prevent rotting, since it absorbs moisture and quickly deteriorates.
Medicinal characteristics of the tree
White birch has long been famous for its healing properties, and people have long learned to use various parts of the plant (wood, bark, sap, buds, leaves) for their own benefit. Moreover, they are used both in medicine and in other fields of activity. The medicinal properties of birch are difficult to overestimate: the bark and branches of birch contain betulin, which colors them white and contains a high percentage of silver. Betulin, entering the blood, improves liver function and reduces joint pain.
Birch sap and decoctions strengthen the immune system, and the plant itself has a beneficial effect on health. Scientists have found that people living near a birch grove are much less likely to suffer from colds, since the volatile phytoncides released by the tree suppress the growth and development of bacteria. Therefore, products using a birch branch are especially valuable. For example, manufactured brooms under the influence of hot air release phytoncides, which sterilize the air and fill it with antiseptics.
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In its buds, white birch contains about five percent essential oil, ascorbic acid, higher fatty acids, and various resinous substances. Birch leaves have medicinal properties, which also contain tannins, as well as flamanoids, which improve the elasticity of blood vessels and prevent sclerotic diseases.
Tar is obtained from the bark of the plant, which has long been used in medicine as an antiseptic. From the top layer of tree bark, birch bark, which is highly durable, an excellent material is obtained for various crafts: baskets, bast shoes, various kitchen utensils. The peoples of the Far East made boats from it, and in Rus' it served as paper (birch bark writing): scribes wrote on it with scribble and sharp bone sticks.
Hazel
The entire birch family, whose representatives bear fruit with nuts, cannot boast of fruits as tasty as those of hazel. Hazel, as it is popularly called, has a leaf shape reminiscent of bream, for which it was called hazel. They are dark green above and light green below.
Common hazel rarely grows above 7 m and has two types of flowers - male flowers in the form of earrings and female flowers resembling buds. The fruits of this tree are light brown in color, edible and have both excellent taste and benefits.
Sometimes common hazel is called hazelnut, but this is not entirely true. Hazelnut is its cultivated species, and its fruits are much larger and more nutritious.
In total, there are 20 types of hazel in nature, some of which are bushes, and others are tall trees, reaching 30 m in height, for example, like the bear nut, which grows up to 200 years. And variegated hazel - a shrub of the birch family - does not exceed 3 meters in height and produces the same tasty, but not as nutritious fruits as its ordinary variety.
Hmelegrab
This tree is poorly known in Europe, since its species grow in North America, Japan, Asia Minor and the Caucasus.
Hop hornbeam grows up to 25 m in height, has a tent-shaped crown, brown bark and finely toothed alternate leaves. In nature, there are only 4 types of these trees:
- Virginia hop hornbeam (American) is found on the streets and parks of Kyiv, Moscow and St. Petersburg, but is the least common of the birch family.
- The common hop hornbeam loves warmth, so it grows in the Caucasus, the Mediterranean and Asia Minor.
- Japanese - found only in China and Japan.
- Nolton's hop hornbeam grows only in North America and is not known at all in Europe.
Attempts to grow these tree species in areas with cold winters have not yet been successful.
Meaning and Application
The properties of birch have been known since ancient times. The buds and leaves are used for medicinal purposes as a diuretic and disinfectant. Birch sap, especially collected in early spring, is considered a good preventative against diseases of the circulatory system. Chaga mushrooms growing on trunks serve as an excellent remedy against headaches; tea made from them perfectly tones and helps restore strength.
Firewood and brooms are harvested from birch. Wood is widely used in the chemical industry. Wood is actively used in furniture production. Wood makes light, durable, beautiful products, all kinds of household items, and crafts.
Ostriopsis
This is a genus of flowering shrub plants native to China and Mongolia. They grow from 3 m to 5 m in height and are divided into 2 types:
- Ostriopsis David is a shrub 3 m in height with wide ovate leaves, pubescent shoots and staminate flowers in cylindrical earrings.
- Ostriopsis noble - has male and female flowers and fruits in the form of small nuts collected in fruit.
This plant is poorly known in Europe, so it can only be seen in its homeland.
