Description of birch.
Currently, there are more than 100 different species of birches in the world. More than half of them are growing here. The most common type of birch in Russia - weeping (it is also called povily or warty). This tree belongs to the family of birch trees and reaches a height of 20 m. It has a smooth white trunk with sagging branches. It is called warty because of the resinous droplets that cover the shoots in the spring. In the beginning of spring, the first buds appear on the birch, and from them the sticky leaves that have an ovoid or triangular shape are unfolded. Birch flowers in the form of earrings have different sexes. Male earrings are brushes at the ends of branches, and female earrings are located one on the side branches. Birch fruits are nuts. The buds swell in March, the flowers appear in April-May, and the nuts in August-September.
Weeping birch grows in the forest-steppe and forest zones of Russia in the European part, as well as in Siberia, the Urals and Kazakhstan, forming mixed and clean forests.
Beneficial features.
The kidneys gather in the spring in the end or the middle of March, when they just start to swell, and the leaves do not appear. At this time they contain the highest concentration of drugs. The buds do not separate from the branches, the branches are cut off and dried in the fresh air, covered with a canopy. The dried branches are cleaned of birch buds, they store kidneys in multi-layered paper bags for several years.
Birch buds contain:
- essential oil, which has disinfectant properties,
- saponins, which have diuretic properties,
- phytoncides, which fight with infectious agents,
- organic acids,
- flavonoids, which reduce the permeability of capillaries,
- tannins, which have analgesic, antibacterial and vasoconstrictive effects,
- as well as resin, bitterness and vitamin C.
So, the birch buds have antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, diuretic, choleretic, spasmolytic, expectorant, antitumor, sudorific, anthelmintic and haemostatic properties.
Application in medicine.
Medicinal preparations made on the basis of birch buds are accepted:
- with diseases of the kidneys or urinary tract (except for the period of exacerbation) as a diuretic and antibacterial agent;
- with diseases of the gallbladder, bile ducts as an antispasmodic and cholagogue;
- in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract as an antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory agent;
- when there is edema of various origin - a diuretic;
- in diseases of the respiratory tract as a diaphoretic, expectorant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory agent;
- external application for burns, wounds, skin diseases and ulcers as a wound-healing, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent;
- with tuberculosis as an anti-inflammatory, expectorant, hemostatic and antibacterial agent;
- when malignant tumors occur in complex treatment as an antitumor agent;
- with enterobiasis as an anthelmintic;
- when baldness is applied externally and promotes the growth and development of hair;
- it is applied externally as compresses on the area of the joints with inflammation;
- is applied externally as lotions with hemorrhoids as an anti-inflammatory and hemostatic agent.
Medicines based on birch buds are contraindicated in acute kidney disease, as well as urinary tract.
Home use of the kidney: recipes.
You can make home from the kidneys for internal use:
take two teaspoons of crushed dry raw materials, which are filled with a glass of boiling water, placed on a water bath for 15 minutes, cooled for 45 minutes at normal temperature, the infusion is filtered, squeezed and filled with boiled water to the original level. Infusion is taken three times a day for a third of the glass.
You can also make a decoction for internal use:
take two teaspoons of chopped dry raw materials, pour a glass of cold water, bring to a boil, boil for half an hour, cool, filter, then top up to the original level with boiled water. The broth is taken three times a day on a tablespoon.
Buds of birch have long been a popular remedy for folk healers.