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

Flavors/Temps: Slightly Pungent, Somewhat Bitter, Cooling

Caution: None noted.

History/Folklore: Has been used with 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. If the dark inner bark is damaged, the removal of the outer layer can kill the tree. Because the outer bark is so slow to decay it can be harvested from dead or fallen trees and still retain its wonderful healing properties. It is strong, water resistant and highly pliable, making it easy to bend, cut and even sew.

Native Americans used birch bark in many different ways. To build canoes, wigwams, ritual art, food containers, even clothing. Birch is very aromatic and tastes similar to wintergreen.

Being a soft wood, 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 is a significant Russian industry and is almost identical to wintergreen oil. 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 is being studied as a possible anticancer treatment. It is thought that betulinic acid may slow the growth of several types of tumor cells.

The tree, with her silvery white bark 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 is the bridge between this world and the spirit realm. The Fly Agaric mushroom (the classic red mushroom with white polka dots seen in many fairy tales) is considered to be a food of the Gods, and used by Siberian Shamans, grows near birch trees. 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 as an indicator for 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.” It was thought the mere touch of the birch twigs would ensure fertility and drive out evil spirits. This same procedure was used to drive out curses, witchcraft and evil spells. 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 and has been used to purify the air and prevent the spread of illness.