Birch
Scientific names
- Betula papyrifera (paper birch)
- Betula occidentalis (water birch)
- Betula glandulosa var. glandulosa (scrub birch)
- Betula glandulosa va. gladulifera (swamp birch)
French name: bouleau
Secwepemc name: qweqwllillenllp
(all birch trees) – pronunciation
Tree lore: Lady of the Woods
She is the ancestral spirit of the land
There are several species of birch in our region with all being part of the Betulacae family which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams.
The largest and most easily recognized are the paper birch which can reach heights of 30-40m tall. They routinely hybridize with other species of birch, most commonly with water birch which are much smaller and more shrub like.
Others are scrub birch aka bog birch and swamp birch aka dwarf birch which are more shrub like than the tall paper birch.
Significance to people
The bark of large paper birch trees was and still is used to make baskets, cradles, toboggans and canoes.
Here in Kamloops the Secwepemc make soap and shampoo from birch leaves
Birch sap is often harvested and drank as a tonic or beverage.
The Okanagan people differentiated paper birch from water birch and used the latter mainly for firewood.
Significance to ecosystems
Fast growing and short-lived. It quickly cycles nutrients and provides a lot of organic matter through fallen leaves, catkins and berries to build soil.
Birch will rapidly regrow in wet disturbed open areas and are highly adaptable so long as their water and sunlight needs are met.
Pure birch stands provide a natural firebreak and reduce the frequency of fires as opposed to where birch and conifers are mixed together.
These trees are powerful eco-system restorers and have been used by Europeans in landscaping for generations.
Significance to animals
Deer, moose and rabbits browse on its tender branches.
The seeds are food for many birds come fall. Grouse are known to eat both buds and seeds.
Birch often grow near streams, lakes and marshes providing habitat for both birds and mammals.
Where to find them:
Look low to find birch along water courses and on moist parts of plateaus at mid-elevation.
It loves an open canopy and is unlikely to be found in the shade. It often is the first tree to regrow in moist disturbed or logged forests and is a bit of an opportunist what foresters call a ‘pioneer species’.
In our dry climate birch is restricted to places where the water table is high. It is extremely frost tolerant but cannot withstand long periods of saturated or dry soils. It loves rich soils and enhances the soil where ever it is found.
Birch can be found growing amongst a wide variety of trees, it is very friendly and loves to grow in stands with many many other birch trees.
Identification
Paper birch is easily recognized by its peeling white bark.
Birch tree leaves are triangular and with shrubs being more oval shaped with highly serrated margins (edges).
Water birch has similar characteristics such as horizontal stripes which are actually pores called lenticels that help it take up oxygen when its roots are wet.
For this reason scrub birch can sometimes be mistaken for cherry because they have very similar smooth bark with horizontal lenticels.
Dwarf (swamp) birch has more dot shaped lenticels that are scattered like freckles on its tiny branches.
Older or dying birch often form symbiotic relationships with the mycorrhizal network in the soil and become hosts for all sorts of fungi which can be found on their bark.
All birch naturally grow very upright in clumps of many trees.
Mature trees have dark colored branches reaching out and upwards towards the canopy.
Modern cultivation & usage:
Before 1997 the forestry industry considered birch a weed, despite its fast growth and valuable wood however that has now changed and the species is now being managed and sometimes is cultivated and planted.
Today birch is recognized as a valuable hardwood used for veneer, pulpwood and firewood.
Hopefully we will see birch cultivation increase in the coming years because it has huge potential to provide value to both our ecosystem and as a wood product due to its short-rotation intensive forestry because of its productivity, easy regeneration, and the fact that it has few serious damaging agents.
Ethical harvesting practice:
Trees for tapping should be mature, healthy and have a diameter of at least 8 inches. It is also a good idea to choose trees with a wide canopy that is some distance from other trees.
Follow the rule of 3 and tap trees that are growing in groups. Do not risk killing the only tree in a struggling ecosystem.
Birch bark for starting fires can often be found on the forest floor.
To harvest birch bark for crafting look for a local guide to show you. Trees can be irreversibly scarred from taking bark from the second layer.
Medicine Makers:
Birch Tincture for an anti-inflammatory analgesic pain reliever.
Twigs and small branches are harvested in the spring when the sap begins its upward movement to the tips of the branches. This is when the methyl salicylates are the most potent and it extends into the summer. Branches should not be collected in the fall for medicine.
To make the tincture:
1. Chop the leaves and twigs and fill a jar 1/2 full.
2. Fill the rest of the jar with high proof alcohol.
3. Place the jar in a dark place and shake daily.
The tincture will be ready in 4-6 months.
The tincture is useful in treating those with rheumatism, arthritis, calcium spurs, heart and kidney edema, chronic cystitis and high cholesterol.
Birch Leaf Tea & Infusions
Birch is astringent and used for its curative effects on skin eruptions and wet eczema a decoction of the bark is a stronger version.
Gather birch leaves in the spring when they are fully opened and in the morning before the heat of the day releases the essential oils. Dry the leaves in a dark well-ventilated space and store in an airtight container. It is best to let them naturally dry as heating will take away the medicine.
Try steeping an ounce of dried leaves in a pint of water for 4 hours, strain, and use the medicinal infusion on the skin as a wash to soothe and heal.
Fresh Leaf Vinegar Infusion
Birch is a “bitter,” acting as a stimulant and tonic on the digestive system it contains bone building and immune strengthening minerals and micronutrients that can be released by soaking the leaves in vinegar.
Soak the fresh leaves (gathered as above) in apple cider vinegar for a few weeks.
This vinegar can be added to drinking water, salads and cooked foods.
Birch Bark Tea & Infusions
Birch bark has the most medicinal properties in the plant; the bark and heartwood contain medicinal oils including Betulin.
It is best harvested by choosing a large and healthy tree in a stand of many trees. Then select a one or two pencil-size or larger branches and remove from the tree with a clean knife or pruning shears. Remove smaller side shoots close to the branch with a sharp knife – these can be chopped up to make a tea, or added to garden compost.
Birch bark and the heartwood contain the medicine so the full branch can be clipped, chopped and dried in a well-ventilated dark space.
bark is antirheumatic, astringent, lithontripic, salve and sedative
dried and powdered bark has been used to treat nappy rash in babies and various other skin rashes
A decoction of the inner bark has been used as a wash on rashes and other skin sores
A poultice of the thin outer bark has been used as a bandage on burns
the outer bark can be used to make a cast for a broken limb: cloth is placed next to the skin over the broken bone; birch bark is then tied over the cloth and is gently heated until it shrinks to fit the limb
Birch Bark Decoction
Dried or fresh birch bark is boiled on medium until the liquid turns color and becomes syrupy.
10-20 minutes depending whether it is fresh or dried. Dried takes longer.
It can be used internally to:
- treat dysentery and various diseases of the blood
- treat skin rashes and eruptions
- induce sweating and to treat a fever
- ensure an adequate supply of milk in a nursing mother
- treat female ailments (?)
The German Commission E Monographs, a therapeutic guide to herbal medicine, approve Betula species for infections of the urinary tract, kidney and bladder stones, rheumatism
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References
- Parish, Coupe, Lloyd. (1996) Plants of Southern British Columbia.
- https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/49155-Betulaceae
- https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/forestry/managing-our-forest-resources/silviculture/tree-species-selection/tree-species-compendium-index/paper-birch
- https://sierraclub.bc.ca/scrub-birch/
- https://moosemushroomsmud.com/2021/03/09/birch-tapping-101/
- https://cfcg.forestry.ubc.ca/resources/species-reports/paper-birch/
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2021.682512/full
- https://placesjournal.org/article/birch-thickets-landscape-architecture-and-ecological-unpredictability/?cn-reloaded=1
- https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Betula+papyrifera
- https://cedarmountainherbs.com/the-magic-and-medicine-of-the-birch-tree/
- https://medicinalforestgardentrust.org/medicinal-trees-and-bark-harvesting/
- http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/curriculum/books/Viereck/viereckbirch.html
