The Magic of Birch
Long, long ago on an early winter’s day an old old herb woman died and was buried in the forest outside the village by her old old woman friends. The woman’s daughter, Eloise, who had left the village many years before to see something of the world, returned upon hearing of her mother’s death. In her grief, the daughter walked the path into the forest in search of her mother’s grave. A familiar voice called from the distance, “Eloise!” Eloise peered through the trees toward the voice and saw a crescent moon setting over a ring of birch trees shimmering ghostly in the glow and rushed into the middle of the grove.
In the middle of the grove, a circle of birch bark floated on a pool of water. Eloise knelt on the soft mossy bank and gazed into the water within the birch ring. There she saw her mother’s smiling face. “Oh Mother,” Eloise cried, “I’ve missed you so!”
Her mother replied, “Eloise, my daughter, when I died, I was buried here within this grove and became a birch tree as have all the wise women before me. Look behind you to see me as I am today.”
Eloise turned to see a birch tree wave her branches gracefully though there was no wind. Eloise ran crying to her mother and sank to the forest floor, leaning against the smooth bark of the tree.
Her mother began to speak soothingly to Eloise the magic of the birch tree. “I am the tree of beginning and birth. I bring protection for all. Pots, dishes and cups made from my wood never empty of food and drink. I am the tree of the first new moon each lunar year. I am Beth, the Lady of the Woods. “Mother,” Eloise implored, “what can be done for me? I am alone and have no child to love and cherish.” Beth looked lovingly upon her daughter and lowered her branches to hold Eloise safe and warm. “Take one of my branches, daughter, to our cottage and with it fashion a cradle. Build a fire in the hearth with the chips and scraps and place the cradle near the fire. Lie then down upon the hearth rug to sleep and we shall see what we shall see.”
Eloise returned home and did all her mother told her. When she woke in the morning, her belly began to swell, her breasts became full and tender. By and by, a baby was born to Eloise, a daughter, whom she named Samara. Samara brought great joy to Eloise and grew in the knowledge of the forest plants and animals.
Eloise and Samara returned to the birch grove many times every year for the comfort and abundant gifts the mother birch bestowed upon them. Eloise and Samara gathered sap, the blood of the trees, each late winter to boil down for mineral rich syrup. The roof of their tiny cottage was well shingled with birch bark. They gathered the leaves in spring and summer to steep in vinegar and drink as tea. Samara delighted in making a new birch broom each year from twigs bound around a stout branch.
Many years passed. Samara grew into a strong and self-reliant woman. Eloise grew old and, as happens to us all, died and was buried next to her mother in the birch grove. In her grief, Samara walked the well-worn path to the birch grove seeking comfort and solace. A familiar voice called to her, her mother’s voice, calling….”Samara.”
The Medicine of Birch
The birch tree is both magical and medicinal. It’s shrouded in a bit of mystery, which unfolds if we sit quietly at its feet and listen.
The paper birch, Betula papyrifera, is a medium sized deciduous tree, which grows up to 60-90 feet tall. The leaves are alternate, have serrated edges and are almost pelvis shaped, being wider at the petiole and becoming narrower and sharply pointed at the tip. In the spring, male and female flowers are borne on separate sweet smelling catkins, which produce beautiful little seeds on papery wings.
The whitish bark peels off and rolls much like the papyrus the ancient Egyptians wrote on (hence the name Betula papyrifera), causing a person to wonder what ancient wisdom must be written on birch’s papyrus-like bark. The bark can be peeled from birch trees after a storm’s blow down and pressed flat to be used for writing or painting upon. Have you ever written a love letter on birch bark? I have. Pick up the curled bark from the ground, soak it for a couple hours in warm water, pat dry, then dry between a couple of heavy books to flatten.
Birches tend to grow in stands (a continuous family reunion), and are somewhat spindly with little forking at the lower end of the trees. Birches prefer moist, well-drained sites and thrive in open and dense woods. Usnea spp., Platismatia glauca (also called Ragbag) and many other lichens grow on the entire length of birches. Many varieties of mosses enjoy the shelter and moisture collecting at the base of the trees. Northwest Washington is at the southern end of paper birch’s range, which dominates the taiga, the cold northern coniferous forests from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. Birches are rigorous trees; the stump of a cut or fallen birch will often sprout new growth. Birches are short lived; a 100-year old birch is considered elderly.
In autumn, the ever shortening days and longer nights signal the birch to release a collection of hormones. One of the hormones, abscisic acid, initiates dormancy. It acts as an inhibitory that counteracts the growth hormones and induces ethylene formation. Together, the ethylene and other hormones cause a physiological change in the tree whereby the base of the leaf petiole is walled off from the branch. The leaves, with no access to nutrients, die and drop off the tree. This change towards dormancy and the millions of functions and changes happening inside a tree standing so still boggles the brain.
Medicinally, the birch leaves and twigs act superbly as an anti-inflammatory analgesic pain reliever. The twigs are steeped in high proof alcohol to extract and preserve the wintergreen oil (terpene), which contains methyl salicylates. Twigs and small branches are harvested in the spring when the sap begins its upward movement to the tips of the branches and in the summer. As fall approaches, terpene production goes down, only to be boosted in the spring once again. The oil is useful in treating those with rheumatism, arthritis, calcium spurs, heart and kidney edema, chronic cystitis and high cholesterol. The bark and dried leaves are useful as a tea.
The leaves are gathered in the spring and dried for use in infusions. Gather the leaves in the spring when they are fully opened and in the morning before the heat of the day releases the essential oils. Birch is astringent and used for its curative effects on skin eruptions and wet eczema. 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.
Birch is also a “bitter,” acting as a stimulant and tonic on the digestive system. I found that by soaking the fresh leaves in apple cider vinegar for a few weeks, the bone building and immune strengthening minerals and micronutrients are released and easily added to drinking water, salads and cooked foods. Vinegar is a good medium for extracting birch’s nutrients and medicine. Use fresh leaves and chopped twigs or take the time to strip the bark from the twigs.
The bark and heartwood contain medicinal oils including Betulin. Betulin, a triterpenoid, meaning a metabolite of a terpene compound, is found in the bark and heartwood of the birch tree. In studies, betulin has shown biological activities with apparent effects on glucose absorption, glucose uptake, insulin secretion, and diabetic vascular dysfunction (1).
The benefits of betulin do not stop there as it also has anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antiviral activity actions in the body. A medicinal oil of birch bark, sticks and leaves produce an effective pain relieving massage oil.
Birch trees are wonderfully fragrant after a rain, especially when the sun comes out from the clouds and warms the leaves. Terpenes are released with the heat of the sun on the wet leaves and the scent has a welcome soothing effect on the soul. Scent, a superb and easy way to influence healing, is easily accessed by the brain by simply inhaling.
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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23210780
Thank you for the great article! I am interested in making cold process soap from birch (tea or ground dried leaves). Is there any information available concerning that? Is it a good idea? Or not?
Helloooo Jodie!
You are most welcome! You can easily make soap with herbal teas being the water substitution for the lye solution. However, this will mainly be label appeal and will not bring much, if anything, to the soaping table due to the interaction with the lye. You could dry and powder birch leaves to add to the soap, but they will only bring some exfoliation. Birch essential oil will, however, bring some magic and spice to the soap.
Do you have a book for beginners? I am interested in all natural remedies and how to make them safely.
Hello Robin,
Yes, I’ve authored Wild and Beautiful, Naturally! While it is a natural skin care book, it has a very thorough section on wildcrafting, harvesting garden plants, and medicine making techniques. And please sign up for our workshops!
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Hello: I enjoyed the article… I have been tapping my White Birch trees for several years, collect the sap in the spring, freeze it and enjoy it during our short Maine summer. Has anyone else tapped Birch trees?
I’ve tapped birch trees just once. I got more sap out of the big leaf maples on the property where I lived back in the 90s. 48 ounces of sap to 1 ounce of the best tasting maple syrup! That syrup was for “special,” and we would invite people over for brunch. Local maple syrup on pancakes. Now I live in Idaho and we have a bunch of birch trees on the property here. I might just try my hand at tapping them next late winter. Thanks for reaching out! I love hearing that people are still doing this!
You said you tapped birch trees. Was their healing in that sap as in your article with the leaves and bark? Living in Wi it’s just about time for maple sap to run. I am interested if birch sap is worth saving???
Hello Irene ~ I just tapped the birches for their sap to make birch syrup. Birch sap is definitely worth saving!
this is a great site so informative love it
Thank you, Gary!
Salutations from Somerset, UK. Do you think therapeutic cleansing action will be possible from a decoction made from autumn harvested bark and roots? x
Hello from Sandpoint, Idaho in the US! Ooooo, cleanses and detoxes. Yay! Elimination of metabolized hormones, and so many other metabolites such as toxins, bacteria, viruses, etc., are in need of exiting the body. My first go-to would be to do a diet diary for 7 days to get a sense of what is being eaten and then eliminating highly processed foods, alcohol, sugars, etc. More hydration in the form of caffeine free drinks such as….water! All manner of things can be added to make it “taste” better, such as cucumber slices, a few frozen blueberries/blackberries/raspberries, a slice of lime, lemon, or orange. Lemon helps with detoxing! Little shreds of fresh ginger. Did you know? Our body requires 1/2 our body weight (in ounces) of water each day for all of our cells and detox/elimination processes can work well. So, 140 lb person would require 70 ounces of water a day. My maths aren’t that good, perhaps you can figure out how much you’ll need. Start there for a few weeks and then turn to herbs.