Paper Birch, Mountain paper birch, Kenai birch

Betula papyrifera

Physical Characteristics

Betula papyrifera is a deciduous Tree growing to 20 m (65ft) by 5 m (16ft) at a fast rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 1. It is in flower in April, and the seeds ripen in October. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay and nutritionally poor soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil.

Distribution

Northern N. America to Greenland.

Habitats

Woodland Garden Canopy; Secondary; Sunny Edge;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers Inner bark Leaves Sap Shoots Edible Uses: Sweetener Tea Inner bark - raw or cooked. Best in the spring[172]. The inner bark can also be dried and ground into a meal and used as a thickener in soups or be added to flour and used in making bread, biscuits etc. Inner bark is generally only seen as a famine food, used when other forms of starch are not available or are in short supply[K]. Sap - raw or cooked. A sweet flavour[102]. Harvested in early spring, before the leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk[172]. The flow is best on warm sunny days following a hard frost. The sap usually runs freely, but the sugar content is lower than in the sugar maples[226]. A pleasant sweet drink, it can also be concentrated into a syrup or sugar by boiling off much of the water[183, K]. The sap can also be fermented to make birch beer or vinegar[183]. An old English recipe for the beer is as follows:- "To every Gallon of Birch-water put a quart of Honey, well stirr'd together; then boil it almost an hour with a few Cloves, and a little Limon-peel, keeping it well scumm'd. When it is sufficiently boil'd, and become cold, add to it three or four Spoonfuls of good Ale to make it work...and when the Test begins to settle, bottle it up . . . it is gentle, and very harmless in operation within the body, and exceedingly sharpens the Appetite, being drunk ante pastum."[269]. Very young leaves, shoots and catkins - raw or cooked[172, 183]. A tea is made from the young leaves[183] and also from the root bark[257].

Medicinal Uses

Antirheumatic Antiseborrheic Astringent Dysentery Febrifuge Miscellany Sedative Skin Urinary Paper birch was often employed medicinally by many native North American Indian tribes who used it especially to treat skin problems[257]. It is little used in modern herbalism. The bark is antirheumatic, astringent, lithontripic, salve and sedative[172]. The dried and powdered bark has been used to treat nappy rash in babies and various other skin rashes[257]. A poultice of the thin outer bark has been used as a bandage on burns[257]. A decoction of the inner bark has been used as a wash on rashes and other skin sores[257]. Taken internally, the decoction has been used to treat dysentery and various diseases of the blood[257]. The bark has been used to make casts for broken limbs. A soft material such as a 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[257]. A decoction of the wood has been used to induce sweating and to ensure an adequate supply of milk in a nursing mother[257]. A decoction of both the wood and the bark has been used to treat female ailments[257]. 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 (see [302] for critics of commission E).

Known Hazards

The aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons in birch tar are irritating to the skin. Do not use in patients with oedema or with poor kidney or heart functions [301].