Black Birch

Birch Bark, from the Plant Betula lenta, is also commonly known as black birch, cherry birch, mahogany birch, mountain mahogany, spice birch, and sweet birch. The medicinal parts include the leaves and bark.

Black birch is a tree that grows 60-80 feet high, and can be found from Maine to Georgia and west to Michigan. The bark is brown when the tree is young, dark gray later, and is horizontally striped. On old trees, the bark is more irregularly broken. The ovate, pointed leaves occur alternately in pairs, and are finely serrate. The flowers grow in male catkins about 3 inches long and female catkins about 1 inch long, with the male appearing in the Fall and the female the following Spring.

Black birch has been used as an anthelmintic, astringent, and a diuretic. The leaves are used in tea for urinary problems, and to expel intestinal worms. A tea made from the inner bark makes a good mouthwash, and taken internally is good for treating diarrhea, rheumatism, and boils. An oil, similar to oil of wintergreen, can be distilled from the inner bark and twigs.

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