2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Summer residents, who are not attracted to work in the beds, try to plant more trees on their site, and not fruit trees, but those that grow freely in the wild, without requiring attention and care. In such cases, it is simply not realistic to ignore the white birch tree
White birch
The Creator endowed only one tree on Earth with such an amazingly white bark. Although there are more than sixty different types of birch on the planet, and among them there are trees with brown, black or yellowish bark. And at birth, the birch bark is dark and turns white only after a few years of life.
Winged nuts
Very small birch fruits have two wings, which help nuts to overcome kilometers distances. Tired of flying, a nutlet that looks like a golden scale lands and sprouts, not paying attention to the fertility of the soil. Places of fires, clearings are quickly overgrown with birches. They, like doctors in white coats, heal the wounds of the forest. Birch is unpretentious not only to soil, but also to moisture, and grows equally well in too dry and too humid places. It can even sprout on a brick wall. And in my dacha, she grew up in a rubble, which is why the old house began to tilt to one side. I had to cut down a slender white-barrel beauty
Spruce nanny
On sunny summer days, it is always light and festive under the canopy of birches. So young Christmas trees are huddled under them, they are saving themselves from the frost and the scorching sun. That is why people call the birch "spruce nanny". When the Christmas trees outgrow their nannies, they begin to shade the light-loving birch, and the birch dies. The age of birch is not long, not many live to be a hundred years old. But, thanks to temporary birch forests, a dense spruce forest flaunts in the place of fires and felling in a hundred years.
Birch juice
The Motherland generously gives us birch sap. During the Second World War, birch sap was a good help in feeding children and the wounded.
Birch sap is rich in vitamin C and B vitamins, polysaccharides, trace elements and other biologically active substances. The juice contributes to the normalization of metabolism in the body, improves immunity, helps the work of many organs, eliminates fatigue and the effects of stress.
Collect the juice in the spring, before the leaves appear. The best picking time is from noon to 6 pm. The life-giving sap moves along the trunk between the bark and the wood, so it is not necessary to inflict deep wounds on the tree when collecting the sap. After the end of the collection, it is imperative to close the hole and cover it with garden varnish or special putty.
Seven business qualities of birch
Birch in Russia was loved not only for its beauty, but also for its deeds, which were told about in folk songs:
1. To light the world. Today we are spoiled for comfort, which we do not even notice. And for centuries in Russia, the main lamp in the dwelling was a birch torch. It differed from others in that it burned for a long time and almost did not emit soot and fire-hazardous sparks.
2. Squeak to calm down. The axles of the wheels of carts and lord's tarantasses, so that they do not creak on the road, were smeared with tar obtained from birch bark. They escaped with tar from the summer midges.
3. Heal the sick. In addition to the healing birch sap, people collected birch buds in the spring, which were used to treat the lungs, liver and kidneys. Activated carbon, which people ingest when poisoned to neutralize poison, is obtained by burning birch wood.
4. Observe cleanliness. Brooms were made from birch branches, with which they swept the floor in the house, and the yard was cleaned of garbage with brooms, and they freed themselves from pathogens in the bathhouse.
5. Make entries. Records were made on the birch bark (birch) that have survived to this day from the 11th-15th centuries.
6. Things to weave. From birch bark, the peasants wove themselves shoes (bast shoes), baskets for food, dishes. Today, various souvenirs are made from it.
7. Manufacturing products. The main value of birch is its beautiful and durable wood. It is especially famous for its "Karelian birch" pattern. Expensive furniture, boxes and other crafts and souvenirs are made from Karelian birch.
In addition to the listed qualities, birch is a muse for poets, writers, composers and artists. And in the heart of every Russian there is a place for a white-barrel beauty.
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Birch
Birch (lat.betula) - a genus of deciduous shrubs and trees of the Birch family. Includes over 100 species. It is considered one of the most widespread and most important forest-forming species in Russia. In nature, it grows in the Northern Hemisphere.
Birch Jacquemont
Birch Jacquemont (Latin Betula jacquemontii) - deciduous tree of the genus Birch of the Birch family. It is a useful variety of Birch (Latin Betula utilis). It occurs naturally in Eastern Afghanistan and the Himalayas. Typical habitats are mountain slopes.
Dwarf Birch
Dwarf birch (Latin Betula nana) - a species of low-growing shrubs of the genus Birch of the Birch family. Other names are small birch, dwarf birch, dwarf birch, dwarf birch. In nature, the plant is found in many European countries, in Canada and Russia.
Black Birch
Black birch (lat.betula nigra) - a representative of the Birch genus of the Birch family. Another name is river birch. The homeland of the species in question is the United States of America. In nature, it occurs in wetlands, flood plains, river valleys and other places with damp sandy soils.
Birch Schmidt
Schmidt birch (Latin Betula schmidtii) - a representative of the Birch genus of the Birch family. Another name is iron birch. On the territory of the Russian Federation, the species in question is considered a rare tree species. The culture got its name in honor of the Russian botanist and geologist Fyodor Schmidt.
