Parts Most Frequently Used: Leaf, Twig, Bud, Bark, Birch Tar

Flavors/Temps: Slightly Pungent, Somewhat Bitter, Cooling

Caution: Considered safe.

Key Constituents: Vitamin C, Betulinic acid (Bet A), Volatile oil (Betulin), Methyl salicylate, Saponins, Flavonoids, Hyperoside resin, tannins, Sesquiterpenes, Butanol, Salicylate

History/Folklore: Birch has been used while drinking lots of fluids, to cleanse and irrigate the urinary tract, and in springtime to purify the blood. Birch bark easily peels away from the tree’s trunk, but is very slow to decay. Removing the outer layer can kill the tree if the dark inner bark is damaged. Because the outer bark is so slow to decay it can be harvested from dead or fallen trees and retain its wonderful healing properties, making this the superior harvesting technique. The bark is strong, water resistant, and highly pliable, making it easy to bend, cut, and sew.

Besides being a medicine, Native Americans used birch bark in many different ways. They built canoes, wigwams, ritual art, food containers, and even clothing. They boiled the bark to make poultices for healing minor wounds.
Being a softwood, birch wood is mostly used for products such as broom handles. Birch charcoal is used for gunpowder. Russia uses birch oil to treat leather giving it durability and preventing mold. Therefore, it is often used to bind books. Birch tar oil, almost identical to wintergreen oil, is a significant Russian industry. It is used in photography and prevents bug bites. The inner bark can be ground into flour and was used in times of famine or as a last resort food for survival.

Betulinic acid, found in birch, is being studied as a possible anticancer treatment. It is thought that betulinic acid may slow the growth of several types of tumor cells. This compound is also known for helping to heal injured skin by recruiting anti-inflammatory mediators to the injured area helping to reduce infection, remove dead skin, and aid the healing process.

Distillation of the bark yields birch tar oil, an astringent ingredient used in ointments to treat eczema and psoriasis. An oil made by distilling the bark of the sweet birch has traditionally been used to treat bladder infections, gout, and joint and nerve pain.

The inner bark, twigs, and leaves contain salicylate, which is aspirin, giving them powerful analgesic properties for treating headaches, sprains, cramping, arthritis, and fevers. They are all also full of astringent, aromatic, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Birch bark extract is rich in vitamin C, which promotes collagen and helps to make hair thick, strong, and lustrous.

With its silvery white bark, the birch tree is recognized as a youthful Goddess of love and light. The Celts identify the birch tree with the virgin Goddess Brigid. In Siberia, the tree is regarded as the sacred world tree that bridges this world and the spirit realm. The Fly Agaric mushroom (Amanita muscaria, the highly toxic, classic, red mushroom with white polka dots seen in many fairy tales), grows near birch trees and is considered a food of the Gods. Siberian Shamans use the mushroom in sacred ceremonies. Some legends portray the birch tree as a manifestation of the Goddess who offers her milk to the shaman as an elixir of life, and the sacred mushroom is said to be her breast.

As one of the first trees to turn green in spring, the birch is understandably associated with life, fertility, and magic. Farmers have used her progress to indicate when to start sowing wheat crops.

In pre-Christian times, the birch played an important role in the Beltane celebrations, traditionally celebrated on the eve of the first of May. The “Maytree” or “Maypole” was often a birch tree. A custom evolved of hitting, flogging, or “beating” the woman with the pliant Birch twigs and branches in a ritual called “quickening.” The mere touch of the birch twigs was believed to ensure fertility and drive out evil spirits and spells, curses, and witchcraft. In magical folk medicine, the birch was associated with the transfer of magic to alleviate the pain of rheumatism. The young branches were tied around the affected area and the pain was said to be absorbed by the twigs while the branchlets transferred their suppleness into the painful joint.

Birch smoke is an excellent disinfectant to purify the air and prevent the spread of illness.

Birch is very aromatic and tastes similar to wintergreen.