Botanical name of birch:
- Betula pendula (silver birch)
- Betula pubescens (downy birch)
Plant family: Birch family (Betulaceae)
Main botanical characteristics: The silver birch grows on drier soil and is larger than the downy birch. Its trunk has white bark. Leaves are triangular, pointed, doubly serrated, alternate, long-stalked, dark green above, dull beneath. The male flowers are drooping, while the female flowers are green, upright cones.
Flowering time: March April
Plant parts used: Leaves (Folia betulae), juice (Liquor betulae), tar (Pix betulae)
Ingredients: Saponins, flavonoids, tannins, bitter substances, vitamin C, potassium, calcium
Effect: Diuretic (water pill), urine disinfectant, dehydrating, detoxifying, kidney stimulant, metabolism stimulant, hair growth promoter, increases uric acid excretion.
Indications: Kidney dysfunction, flushing therapy for bacterial, inflammatory kidney diseases, cystitis, kidney stones, edema and lymph stagnation, rheumatic complaints, rheumatism, gout, joint pain, arthritis, and osteoarthritis.
Contraindication / Side effects: Caution should be exercised when using flushing therapy in cases of edema due to cardiac or renal failure.
Preparation and dosage form:
- Tea (1 cup several times a day)
- Tincture (2-4x/day 15-20 drops)
- Fresh leaf plant juice (1-3 times a day, 1 tbsp.)
- Birch bark juice (2-4 dl/day) or as a hair rinse against hair loss and dandruff.
- Externally: Birch tar as a cream for skin damage and rheumatism.
Effect of birch according to TCM (cool):
- Discharges damp heat from the bladder and dissolves liver qi stagnation
- Causes sweating
- clears fever, heat and toxic processes
