Everything about Birch totally explained
Birch is the name of any
tree of the genus
Betula (
Bé-tu-la), in the family
Betulaceae, closely related to the
beech/
oak family,
Fagaceae. These are generally small to medium-size
trees or
shrubs, mostly of northern
temperate climates. The simple
leaves may be toothed or lobed. The fruit is a small
samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the
alders (
Alnus, the other genus in the family) in that the female
catkins are not woody and disintegrate at maturity, falling apart to release the seeds, unlike the woody cone-like female alder catkins.
The common name
birch is derived from an old
Germanic root,
birka, with the proto-Indo-European root
bherƏg, "white, bright; to shine." The
Proto-Germanic rune berkanan is named after the birch. The botanic name
Betula is from the original
Latin. Birch is used as a food plant by the
larvae of a large number of
Lepidoptera (
butterflies and
moths) species, see
List of Lepidoptera that feed on birches.
The birch is considered a
national tree of
Russia, where it used to be worshipped as a goddess during the
Green Week in early June.
The bark of all birches is characteristically marked with long horizontal lenticels, and often separates into thin papery plates, especially upon the Paper Birch. It is practically imperishable, due to the resinous oil which it contains. Its decided color gives the common names Red, White, Black, Silver and Yellow to different species.
The buds form early and are full grown by midsummer, all are lateral, no terminal bud is formed; the branch is prolonged by the upper lateral bud. The wood of all the species is close-grained with satiny texture and capable of taking a fine polish; its fuel value is fair.
The leaves of the different species vary but little. All are alternate, doubly serrate, feather-veined, petiolate, and stipulate. Apparently they often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like two-leaved lateral branchlets.
Flower and fruit
The flowers are monoecious, opening with or before the leaves and borne on three-flowered clusters in the axils of the scales of drooping or erect aments. Staminate aments are pendulous, clustered or solitary in the axils of the last leaves of the branch of the year or near the ends of the short lateral branchlets of the year. They form in early autumn and remain rigid during the winter. The scales of the staminate aments when mature are broadly ovate, rounded, yellow or orange color below the middle, dark chestnut brown at apex. Each scale bears two bractlets and three sterile flowers, each flower consisting of a sessile, membranaceous, usually two-lobed, calyx. Each calyx bears four short filaments with one-celled anthers or strictly, two filaments divided into two branches, each bearing a half-anther. Anther cells open longitudinally. The pistillate aments (
catkins) are erect or pendulous, solitary; terminal on the two-leaved lateral spur-like branchlets of the year. The pistillate scales are oblong-ovate, three-lobed, pale yellow green often tinged with red, becoming brown at maturity. These scales bear two or three fertile flowers, each flower consisting of a naked ovary. The ovary is compressed, two-celled, crowned with two slender styles; the ovule is solitary.
The ripened pistillate ament is called a strobile and bears tiny winged nuts, packed in the protecting curve of each brown and woody scale. These nuts are pale chestnut brown, compressed, crowned by the persistent stigmas. The seed fills the cavity of the nut. The cotyledons are flat and fleshy. All the species are easily grown from seed., is thermoplastic and waterproof; it was used as a glue on, for example,
arrows, and also for medicinal purposes.
Silver Birch (
Betula pendula) is
Finland's national tree. Occasionally one uses leafy, fragrant twigs of silver birch to gently beat oneself in a
sauna. The twigs are called
vihta or
vasta. This has a relaxing effect on the muscles.
Birch leaves make a
diuretic tea and to make extracts for
dyes and cosmetics.
Ground birch bark, fermented in sea water, is used for seasoning the woolen, hemp or linen sails and hemp rope of
traditional Norwegian boats.
Birch twigs were bound in a bundle, also called birch, to be used for
birching, a form of
corporal punishment.
Many of the
First Nations of
North America prized the birch for its bark, which due to its light weight, flexibility, and the ease with which it could be stripped from fallen trees, was often used for the construction of strong, waterproof but lightweight
canoes, bowls, and
tipis.
Birch is used as
firewood due to its high
calorific value per unit weight and unit volume. Birch is prized by the
Sami people as it burns well, without popping, even when frozen and freshly hewn. The bark is also used in starting fires. The bark will burn very well, even when wet, because of the oils it contains. With care, the bark can be split into very thin sheets that will ignite from even the smallest of sparks.
Birches also have spiritual importance in several religions, both modern and historical.
Birch
ply is made from laminations of birch veneer. It is light but strong and has many other good properties. Birch ply is used to make guitar amplifiers and speaker cabinets. They are good tonally and are also known for their sturdiness. Occasionally it's used for electric and acoustic guitar bodies. It is also used to make drums. They produce boosted high and low frequencies with loud low end punch that's ideal for studio recordings. Birch ply is used to make longboards (skateboard), giving it a strong yet flexy ride. It is also used (often in very thin grades with many laminations) for making model aircraft.
Birch wood is also a common material used in mallets for keyboard percussion.
Food
In
Belarus,
Russia,
the Baltic States,
Finland, and parts of northern
China,
birch sap is consumed as a refreshing beverage, and is believed to have
tonic qualities. It is watery and pale green in color, with a slightly sweet flavor, and is bottled commercially. Birch sap may also made into
kvass. The sap of particular birch species may also be rendered into
birch syrup,
vinegar,
birch beer (a drink similar to
root beer), and other foods. In contrast to
maple syrup, birch syrup is very difficult to produce, making it more expensive than other food syrups. It is also considerably less sweet than maple syrup and the sap for syrup production isn't available until a month later than maple's. The syrup is made mainly in
Alaska (from Alaska Birch) and
Russia (from several species), and more rarely elsewhere.
Xylitol can also be extracted from birch, a
sugar alcohol artificial sweetener, which has shown effectiveness in preventing, and in some cases repairing,
tooth decay.
According to the
Food Network series
Unwrapped, birch is a preferred wood for the manufacture of
toothpicks.
Medicinal
In northern
latitudes birch is considered to be the most important
allergenic tree
pollen, with an estimated 15-20% of
hay fever sufferers sensitive to birch pollen grains.
The
chaga mushroom is an
adaptogen that grows on white birch trees, extracting the birch constituents and is used as a remedy for
cancer.
The bark is high in
betulin and betulinic acid,
phytochemicals which have potential as
pharmaceuticals, and other chemicals which show promise as industrial lubricants.
Birch bark can be soaked until moist in hot water, and then formed into a cast for a broken arm .
The inner bark of birch can be ingested safely.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Birch'.
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