Updated 4 January 2024
Other botanical names
- Betula verrucosa
Common names
- Warty Birch, European white birch, East Asian white birch
Common origins
- Temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (Europe, Asia)
Botanical classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Division: Magnoliophyta
- Class: Magnoliopsida
- Order: Fagales
- Family: Betulaceae
- Genus: Betula
Components
Leaves
- Numerous flavonoids
- Saponins
- Phenolic acids
- Triterpenes
- Vitamin C
- Essential oil
Bark
- Triterpenes: betulinic, betulinic and betulonic acids
- Tannins
- Bitter principles
- Allantoin
Sap
- Sugars: glucose, fructose
- Trace elements: organic silicon, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium, etc.
- Vitamin C
Parts used
- Leaves, bark, sap, buds
Properties
Leaves- Diuretic (eliminates chlorides, urea and uric acid)
- Anti-oedematous
- Anti-infective
- Urinary tract anti-inflammatory
- Diuretic
- Depurative
- Digestive
- Febrifuge
- Hypotensive
- Anti-rheumatic
- Hypocholesterolemic and hypotriglyceridemic
- Weak diuretic
- Treats lymphatic congestion
Indications
Leaves
- Rheumatism
- Gout
- Prevention of kidney lithiasis
- Cystitis
- Urethritis
- Pyelonephritis
- Oedema
Barks
- Skin problems (external)
- Darting
- Eczema
- Oedema
- Hypertension
- Headache
- Dizziness
Sap
- Skin problems
- Spring draining cure
- Hypercholesterolaemia
- Seasonal allergies
- Gout
- Prevention of kidney stones
Precautions / Contraindications
- None known at recommended doses.
- Allergy risk
- Attention, during the months of September and October, the pollens from this plant can cause allergies (birch allergy), in particular hay fever (allergic rhinitis).
- Some cardiovascular disorders.
How to use / Current dose
Leaves
- As an infusion: 10 to 20 g per litre of water, steep for 15 minutes; drink 3 to 4 cups a day.
Bark
- As a decoction (internally and externally): a handful of dried bark to 1 litre of water, boil for 15 minutes, filter; apply as a poultice for skin problems.
- The leaves and bark are available as dried extracts in capsules or as liquid extracts or mother tincture.
Sap
- Fresh: a glass in the morning on an empty stomach.
Buds
Find out more
Medical research is currently focusing on the triterpene compounds found in birch bark. Studies have shown that betulinic acid has anti-viral and anti-cancer properties, making it active against a number of cancers and the AIDS virus. It has also been found that certain poor populations in Siberia who drank decoctions of birch bark as tea had a very low rate of cancer.
In gemmotherapy, a distinction is made between Betula pendula and Betula pubescens, the white birch with upright branches. The former, as a forest pioneer, is used to help remineralise young people suffering from tooth decay and rickets, in particular by improving tissue acidity, whereas Betula pubescens, found more often in peaty, damp areas, helps older people, in particular to cleanse the body of mineral and organic deposits via the urine.
Additional information
Habitat and botanical description
This beautiful tree, with a silvery white trunk that can reach over 20 metres in height, is characterised by its bark that cracks and peels with age, its stems with small warty growths and its drooping branches. Its triangular leaves are finely serrated. The flowers are pendulous, light brown catkins (males) and greenish, stalked catkins (females). It grows in plains and mountains up to 2000m. It thrives in acidic, poor, siliceous or sandy soils and produces humus for broadleaf woods.
Harvest time
The young leaves are harvested in early spring, as is the birch sap (around March).
Mythology / History / Anecdotes and traditional virtues
The name 'Betula' comes from the Celtic 'betul', which corresponds to the first lunar month in the Celtic calendar, and can be associated with its beautiful, shiny silvery-white bark that is visible from afar. Once considered a lunar and Venusian tree, associated with feminine gentleness and happiness, it was thought to encourage feelings of love and marriage. It is also known as a symbol of longevity and renewal.
In Asia it has long been used to treat digestive and nervous disorders. In the twelfth century, people in northern Europe harvested the sap at the time of the new moon for a spring cleansing cure. Some also found it useful for kidney stones.
The bark, which is waterproof and rotproof, was used to make roof tiles and boat hulls. It was also used as a writing surface instead of parchment because of its low cost. Its branches were used to make brooms and by schoolmasters to correct pupils, hence some of its nicknames.