Inspiration of Silver Birch

The silver birch is a graceful and attractive tree with its light airy foliage and distinctive white peeling bark. It has been an inspiration to writers, poets and artists in every season throughout the centuries and when I encountered several in the gardens of Sir Thomas & Lady Dixon Park, I decided to do some close up photography of the trunk and then a little of research on the tree which I will share with you.

Silver Birch (Betula pendula) is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to Europe, though in southern Europe it is only found at higher altitudes. Its range extends into southwest Asia in the mountains of northern Turkey and the Caucasus.  It is a broad leafed deciduous tree.

Silver Birch a medium-sized tree, typically reaching 49–82 ft tall (exceptionally up to 128 ft, with a slender trunk usually under 16 in diameter, but exceptionally to 3.3 ft diameter, and a crown of arched branches with drooping branchlets.  The bark is white, often with black diamond-shaped marks or larger patches, particularly at the base. The shoots are rough with small warts, and hairless, and the leaves 1.2–2.8 in long, triangular with a broad base and pointed tip, and coarsely double-toothed serrated margins. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins, produced before the leaves in early spring, the small winged seeds ripening in late summer on pendulous, cylindrical catkins.

Birch has a number of human uses. The timber has traditionally been used in Scotland in houses, furniture, carts, ploughs, gates and fences. While other parts of the UK used to shun the use of birch except for its traditional use of broomsticks. Today, Birch timber has a variety of uses and large amounts of birch brushwood are used annually for racecourse jumps. Other parts of the tree were also useful. The bark was used for tanning leather and the sap was thought to have medicinal benefits for kidney stones and other ailments.

The sap was also useful as it is a good source of sugar and can be brewed into beer or wine and is still commercially made in Scotland.  The wood can make excellent timber for carving kitchen utensils such as wooden spoons and spatulas: it’s very mild, sweet flavour does not contaminate food, and it has an attractive pale colour. Bark can be heated and the resin collected; the resin is an excellent water proof glue and fire starter.

In tree lore and folklore the Birch is the tree of Venus and has a number of properties associated with it.  It is believed to protect against evil spirits and the evil eye but it also symbolises love and fertility.  In medieval times, a bundle of birch twigs was carried by the local magistrate on his way to court as a symbol of his authority and as a means of correction. The use of the birch as a punishment probably originates in the need to drive out evil spirits.

 

Silver Birch is Finland's national tree.  Occasionally one uses leafy, fragrant boughs of Silver Birch to gently beat oneself in a sauna. The boughs are called vihta or vasta. This has a relaxing effect on the muscles.

In Sweden, the bark of birch trees was ground up and used to make bark bread, a form of famine food. The removal of bark was at one time so widespread that Carl Linnaeus expressed his concern for the survival of the woodlands.

I enjoyed experimenting with the original couple of photos as I thought an artist might enjoy painting some of them. Now I know some of will hate them and some may like one photo.  It was be good to know. However I thank you for visiting today.

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