Birch wood is a type of wood of the birch. Birch wood is pale yellow-brown wood having a close, straight grain and uniform texture that finishes to a smooth surface. Sometimes it is dyed to imitate mahogany. This type of wood is used for among others firewood, turnery, furniture, cabinetry, tools handles, hoops, plywood, flooring and shoe heels. [1] [2] [3]
Because of the hardness of birch, it is easier to shape it with power tools; it is quite difficult to work it with hand tools. [4]
The inner bark is considered edible as an emergency food, even when raw. [6] It can be dried and ground into flour, as was done by Native Americans and early settlers. It can also be cut into strips and cooked like noodles. [6]
The sap can be drunk or used to make syrup [6] and birch beer. Tea can be made from the red inner bark of black birches. [6]
White-barked birches in particular are cultivated as ornamental trees, largely for their appearance in winter. The Himalayan birch, Betula utilis , especially the variety or subspecies jacquemontii, is among the most widely planted for this purpose. It has been cultivated since the 1870s, and many cultivars are available, including 'Doorenbos', 'Grayswood Ghost' and 'Silver Shadow'; 'Knightshayes' has a slightly weeping habit. Other species with ornamental white bark include Betula ermanii , Betula papyrifera , Betula pendula and Betula raddeana . [11]
In the European Union, a prescription gel containing birch bark extract (commercial name Episalvan, betulae cortex dry extract (5–10 : 1); extraction solvent: n-heptane 95% (w/w)) was approved in 2016 for the topical treatment of minor skin wounds in adults. [12] Although its mechanism of action in helping to heal injured skin is not fully understood, birch bark extract appears to stimulate the growth of keratinocytes which then fill the wound. [12] [13]
Preliminary research indicates that the phytochemicals, betulin and possibly other triterpenes, are active in Episalvan gel and wound healing properties of birch bark. [13]
Over centuries, birch bark was used in traditional medicine practices by North American indigenous people for treating superficial wounds by applying bark directly to the skin. [13] Splints made with birch bark were used as casts for broken limbs in the 16th century. [14]
Wood pulp made from birch gives relatively long and slender fibres for a hardwood. The thin walls cause the fibre to collapse upon drying, giving a paper with low bulk and low opacity. The birch fibres are, however, easily fibrillated and give about 75% of the tensile strength of softwood.[ clarification needed ] [15] The low opacity makes it suitable for making glassine.
In India, the birch (Sanskrit: भुर्ज, bhurja) holds great historical significance in the culture of North India, where the thin bark coming off in winter was extensively used as writing paper. Birch paper (Sanskrit: भुर्ज पत्र, bhurja patra) is exceptionally durable and was the material used for many ancient Indian texts. [16] [17] The Roman period Vindolanda tablets also use birch as a material on which to write and birch bark was used widely in ancient Russia as notepaper (beresta) and for decorative purposes and even making footwear ( lapti ) and baskets.[ citation needed ]
Birch wood is sometimes used as a tonewood for semiacoustic and acoustic guitar bodies, and occasionally for solid-body guitar bodies. It is also a common material used in mallets for keyboard percussion.[ citation needed ] Drum manufacturers, such as Gretsch and Yamaha, have been known to use birch wood in the construction of drum shells, owing to its strength and colour which takes stain in an appealing way, and which can also amber over very well, while also giving the drums an appealing tone which changes depending on the type of birch used. [18]
Another method cited was that of splints made of birch bark soaked in water until quite soft. They were then carefully fitted to the limb and tied with bark thongs. On drying, they became stiff and firm. There is no record of the use of extension, but, nevertheless, very few crippled and deformed Indians were to be seen.