Birch Tree
Direction
East
Betula lenta
Birch - sometimes known as sweet birch, black birch, or cherry birch - was called a ti sa gi in Cherokee. Birch was used in a formula to "purify the blood of women after birthing," as an elder related to me. Birch oil was used by mountain folks to flavor food, as well as for alleviating pain due to its salicylic acid content. Birch was tapped much like maple trees are for the sap used in birch beer, and birch tea is made by using the sap and the leaves. Birch was also used with bilberry as a blood purifier by mountain folks, according to my grandmother Edna Rogers.
Direction
South
Betula pendula and B. nigra
The inner bark of mountain or white birch and river birch was used in a formula for treating cuts, scratches, warts, and wounds. Earlier Cherokee also liked it as a hot - or cold-drink preparation. The paper birch (B. papyrifer) was used for its sugar, like the maple tree. The river birch (B. nigra) is a native of the Southeast. These species of birch are not usually mentioned for their medicinal value, like the sweet or cherry birch (B. lenta), which is known for its fragrant oil (oil of wintergreen) and for birch beer.
Birch bark is used today for treating warts; birch has antiviral properties due to the presence of betulin and betulinic acid. The bark also contains salicylates, which are approved for human use by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration. Birch is a member of the Birch family.
Direction
West
Betula alba and B. lenta
The inner bark and the young leaves of sweet birch, or mountain birch, were valued by several tribes for treating kidney stones. The oil was used for flavoring. The oil of wintergreen and wild cherry bark were other tastes treats for Indian children. The children also enjoyed birch beer. Today birch is used to treat bladder infections, digestive problems, gout, and kidney stones and for pain relief. Birch, or a ti sv gi, was one of the council-fire woods used in earlier years for tribal gatherings.
Direction
North
Betula alba and B. lenta
Indian Medicine men and women recognized the astringent abilities of white and sweet birch bark. The inner bark of mountain birch, or a ti sah gi, was used as a stimulant and in a formula for treating colds and respiratory problems. In the early 1900s sweet birch oil was popular as a form of methyl salicylate. Black, or cherry, birch (B. lenta) was used for oil of wintergreen and salicylic acid or aspirin compound. It was also tapped like maple for the sap, which was used to make birch beer. Today birch bark is used for treating headaches and for pain relief. It is a member of the Birch family.
The Cherokee Herbal
Native Plant Medicine from the Four Directions
J. T. Garrett
ISBN 187918196-7
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