Name: Warty birch – warty birch
birch warty (Betula pendula); birch hung; warty birch
Monoecious tree of the birch family, 10-20 m tall. The bark is smooth, white, in old trees, at the base of the trunk, it is black-gray, slightly fissured. The crown is openwork, with drooping branches. Young shoots are bare, glossy, red-brown, densely covered with resinous warts. The leaves are alternate, long-petioled, triangular-rhombic, double-serrated, with a wedge-shaped base, glabrous. Flowers — in single-sex earrings: stamens — at the ends of the branches, long, collected by 2-3; pistillate – on shortened side branches, 2-3 cm long, green, directed upwards. The fruit is a nut. Blooms in April – May.
Distribution . It grows in forest and forest-steppe areas, in the steppe – along river valleys, forming pure and mixed with other species plantations. Grown in gardens and parks.
Procurement and storage . Buds (Gemmae Betulae), young leaves (Folium Betulae) and juice of spring “weeping” are used. Bark is sometimes used. Buds are harvested in early spring, during their swelling period, leaves – in April – May, when they are still fragrant and sticky. Buds that have opened and old leaves lose their medicinal properties. Buds and leaves are dried outdoors under a tent or in dryers at a temperature of 25-30°С. The finished raw materials are stored in a dry room with good ventilation. The shelf life is 2 years. Buds are sold by pharmacies. The juice is taken in early spring, before the leaves bloom.
Chemical compositionBark, buds and leaves contain essential oil, saponins, tannins, resins, ascorbic and nicotinic acids, etc. The composition of the essential oil includes betulene, betulol, betulenic acid, naphthalene, dyes and other compounds. In addition, the buds and leaves contain flavonoids, carotene and hyperoside. Birch sap contains sugars (2%), tannins and aromatic substances, malic acid, compounds of iron, calcium and magnesium. Pharmacological properties and use. Warty birch preparations exhibit diuretic, choleretic, antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing, antiviral, antifungal, anthelmintic and antiparasitic properties. They regulate metabolism, the function of the digestive tract and female genital organs. Birch juice also has a tonic effect. Galenic products of buds and leaves are used for hypo- and vitamin deficiency.
Infusion of leaves is also used for mild forms of cholecystitis and cholecystoangiocolitis, for albuminuria, uric acid diathesis, as a tonic and as a dermotonic agent for acne, infectious fungal cracks in the corners of the mouth, wetting eczema.
Birch sap has a diuretic and expectorant effect, promotes the elimination of harmful substances from the body, helps with cardiac edema. It is used in complex therapy for kidney stone disease, as a tonic and blood purifier for blood loss, metabolic disorders, skin diseases, respiratory tract diseases, and diseases accompanied by high body temperature.
The use of warty birch products in obstetrics and gynecology practice is effective: leaf infusion is used for hypomenstrual syndrome, swelling of pregnant women, nephropathy, climacteric neuroses; decoction of buds – with nephropathy; tincture of leaves and birch sap – as a tonic for anemia in the postpartum period and for climacteric neuroses. When applied externally6, products of Warty Birch. widely used in dermatology and cosmetology, for neuralgic pains, myositis, arthritis, rheumatism, chronic purulent wounds, trophic ulcers, bedsores, bedsores, etc.
In folk medicine, products from leaves and buds are used for bronchitis, hyperacid gastritis and peptic ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum, for gallstone and kidney stone diseases, edema and gout. A decoction or tincture of the buds, in addition, is considered an effective remedy for chronic diarrhea and worm infestation (ascarids and pinworms). Preparations from buds and leaves, as well as fresh birch sap, are used by the people in all cases when general improvement and improvement of metabolism in the body is necessary. The use of birch brooms in steam baths is considered useful for joint pain, gout and sciatica, as well as for colds and skin diseases.
Medicinal forms and applications.
Internally – infusion of leaves (2 teaspoons per 200 ml of boiling water, infuse for 30 minutes, cool, filter and add baking soda on the tip of a knife) 50 ml 3-4 times a day before meals;
tincture of buds (in a ratio of 1:5, on 90% alcohol) 1 teaspoon or tablespoon per reception as a choleretic and diuretic; decoction of buds (10 g per 200 ml of boiling water) 1 tablespoon 3-4 times a day;
infusion of buds (10 g or half a tablespoon per 200 ml of boiling water) is drunk warm in half – a third of a glass 2-3 times a day for 10-15 minutes. to food as a diuretic and choleretic agent and for mycoses;
fresh birch sap (Succus Betulae) 1 glass 2-3 times a day.
Externally : birch tar (Pix liquida Betulae) in the form of 10-30% ointments or liniments for parasitic and fungal skin diseases, eczema, ringworm, leg ulcers;
Vishnevsky ointment for the treatment of wounds, ulcers and bedsores;
Wilkinson’s ointment for the treatment of scabies and fungal skin diseases;
carbolene (Carbole-num) 1-2 tablets 3-4 times a day for flatulence, colitis, increased acidity of gastric juice or 20-30g per reception in the form of an aqueous suspension for poisoning by heavy metals, alkaloids, food intoxication (sausage poisons, mushrooms); tincture of buds (in a ratio of 1:5, on 90% alcohol) for rubs and compresses; fresh
birch sap for washing to remove acne and age spots and for compresses for eczema.
It is NOT RECOMMENDED to use infusions and de