What are the catkins called on a birch tree? Nutritious salad with spicy chicken and grapes

Surely many of us associate the image of the whole of Russia with the appearance of an ordinary white birch. Its descriptions are often popular with poets, musicians, painters and other artists, attracted by the simple beauty of Russian wood.

"The Country of Birch Calico"

As this was clearly noted by the great poet beloved by many. Birch is used as a metaphorical detail, even compared to the soul of the great people of our fatherland.

Numerous songs, poems, and paintings, passed down from generation to generation, are dedicated to the beauty and uniqueness of the beautiful birch tree.

Perhaps this is why the description of birch for children, including in the visual arts, even from school, is so important for their spiritual growth and the formation of a sense of patriotism, the expansion of their emotional responsiveness, as well as the development of love for nature. It is important that the vocabulary will be significantly expanded after becoming acquainted with unique picturesque images.

Love for beauty, which is the nature that surrounds us, formed in early childhood, can protect the soul from callousness, make it kinder and more sympathetic. And this is an undeniable truth.

And the main question that faces teachers and others is how to help children see and hear the world. Therefore, it is no coincidence that when raising a child they use the descriptive image of a white beauty.

Where to begin?

Birch is always good. Any season of the year makes it unique and elegant. Everyone is familiar with her green earrings, silk braids, silvery dew, white bark. All this is such a characteristic description at all times. The birch tree has retained its appearance from time immemorial.

And at the same time, each season has its own characteristics and images.

The tenderness of spring foliage, the shine and aroma of pointed leaves are charming. The pink reflections of the waking sun's rays, timidly running across the snow-white bark, enchant the eye.

Green sprinkled garlands on long thin twigs of branches falling to the ground in summer time, confirms the triumph of nature, blooming in all its glory.

The description of a birch leaf with its unique carving at any time of the year often becomes central theme many lyrical works.

The gold of the birch “clothing”, shining under the blue azure of the autumn sky, dresses up the whole earth with stunning shades, saturating the farewell ceremony until spring with a unique colorful decoration. It is not for nothing that autumn was the favorite time of year of our great poet, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin: “... The charm of the eyes!... The lush decay of nature, the forests dressed in crimson and gold...”

And, of course, a fabulous winter, which turns the beautiful birch tree into a huge fountain of snow splashes and ice floes frozen on the branches and sparkling with a diamond shine in sun rays clear frosty day.

Historical reference

A characteristic and quite interesting description of birch for children can be conveyed through folk signs and peasant folklore.

The sacred tree, which our common ancestors, the Slavs, considered the birch to be, personified beauty, the radiance of light and the purity of a woman.

The white-trunked beauty was honored on a holiday specially designated for her, according to church canons - Semik, when she received special attention. Young girls decorated the birch tree with ribbons and flowers, wove wreaths on their heads, sang songs and danced around it.

In addition to the festivities dedicated to folk tree, there were also many peasant signs and sayings, identified and invented by farmers and simple observers of nature.

Many signs were associated with sowing. So, they sowed bread when the birch catkins burst, and oats - when the leaves were already blooming.

If in the spring they tried birch sap and it turned out to be tasteless, then it was believed that there would be a rich harvest of bread.

The birch tree also suggested what the summer would be like. If it blooms its leaves before the alder, then the summer will be dry. If it's the other way around, it's rainy.

It was also a great coincidence that they talked about spring. came if the top began to turn yellow first, the later - from the bottom side. And snow covered the ground late, if in early October the birch tree was still standing.

As can be seen from the examples, a lot is said about the birch tree in riddles, fairy tales, and poems.

"February Azure"

It would seem, what does birch have to do with it? But even here, it turns out, you can easily raise the level of education for children by expanding their horizons when getting acquainted with a very famous work of painting.

The snowy birch tree often attracted many painters, short description which can be found out by studying reviews, the history of creativity and directly the paintings of great Russian artists.

So is Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar. He painted a picture widely known to the public, and not only in Russia, under the picturesque title “February Azure.”

Having created his masterpiece and later telling the story of its creation, the landscape painter recalled that at that time there were wonderful, sunny February days: “Something unusual was happening in nature. It seemed that she was celebrating some unprecedented holiday of the azure sky, pearl birches, coral branches and sapphire shadows on lilac snow.”

Therefore, having looked at this work at least once, you easily remember the image of a birch tree and are quickly transported to that fresh winter mood that its author put into the picture.

Memorable images of birch trees

The description of birch for children of grade 3, as well as other age categories, can be continued according to the precisely noticed characteristic “birch” features, some of which have become almost - blond birch, sticky leaves, delicate spring greens, earrings and emerald-colored outfit, silk curls, white-trunked beauty, lacy foliage, solemn garlands... This list can be continued indefinitely, comparing the slender and fair beauty with poetic images.

Children can be given an example of other types of terms used in science, including such a characteristic phrase as “silver birch,” a description of which can be read in biology textbooks.

About the name

The word “birch”, in Latin betulus, is translated as “blessed”, “happy”. This is associated with the healing power of birch sap, which has a magical effect.

As a version, there is an assumption that the name was formed from batuere - “to flog”, “to beat”. Most likely, because the tree rods served as convenient devices for punishment.

The third assumption is based on the similarity of the name and the word bhe, meaning “white”, “light”, “pure”.

Biology about birch

The description of birch for children can be continued by citing biological characteristics.

The crown, trunk and roots are the main components of a tree, like other similar species. Distinctive features are: a clearly defined trunk, the presence of lateral branches and apical shoots. This is its basic biological description. The birch tree initially grows at a relatively slow pace, but after a few years the development becomes rapid.

Biologists estimate that the tree is about 120 tall and grows up to 40 meters. However, there are varieties of it as a shrub, including those that develop with their shoots on the ground.

The root system of birches is represented by powerful superficial and deep underground branches, thanks to which the tree is quite stable. However, the central main stem dies. Further life activity is carried out due to the lateral shoots that form a large number of roots.

The white color of the tree bark is due to the presence of betulin, which is a white resin. The outside bark of the main part of the trunk is covered with smooth birch bark, easily peeled off in strips. Below, the tree has a darkly colored trunk with large cracks giving it a rough appearance.

A description of birch for children can be given through comparison with other similar representatives of groves. Where there is a lot different trees- both young and old, and thin-trunked, and short, and tall - the bright bark especially stands out. And the birch grove seems weightless and full of freshness and purity.

Benefits of wood

Birch is especially loved by scientists studying history. It is known that in ancient times the cost of parchment reached sky-high levels. And birch bark and its properties made it possible to use it as a material on which various letters were placed. It was thanks to them that information about ancient life and features of life.

Boxes, bodies, boats, shoes were also items that could only be obtained thanks to this tree.

Birch is also useful for humans as a simple plant. It purifies the air and gives coolness on a hot summer day. In addition, this and valuable material, from which you can get boards, furniture, paper.

In conclusion, I would like to say that the birch was, is and will be a symbol of our great Motherland. It is good both in summer and winter. And it will please the eye for a long time if we maintain a good attitude towards nature.

There is a lot to love about the birch, a slender white-trunked tree with delicate ligature of foliage, which from time immemorial has brought invaluable benefits to people. In Russia, this forest-forming plant can be found everywhere - from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad. This tree easily colonizes areas of deciduous or mixed forests vacated after felling or fire.
The lifespan of a birch, according to various sources, is 100-150 years, some trees live up to 400 years or more.

DESCRIPTION OF BIRCH

Birch in Russia is one of the most common tree species.
Here you can find up to 60 species of this plant - from shrubs creeping above the ground to trees up to 45 m high with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The color of the bark of birch trees varies from white to light yellow or pinkish. There are species with brown, brown and even black bark. The outer part of the bark, easily separated by ribbons, is birch bark; at the base of the trunk of old trees, it becomes covered with cracks and takes on a dark crust.

Birch leaves are symmetrical in shape, turn yellow in the fall, and fall off in the winter. The sessile alternating buds of the tree are most often covered with sticky scales.

Birch catkins come in female and male genders. Male catkins are formed in the summer on elongated shoots. They are 2-4 cm long and are fused integumentary, thyroid scales, covered with waterproof resin.

Female catkins are formed on shortened shoots. In the spring, both male and female catkins bloom and the pollination process begins. After which the female earring forms a cone in the shape of an oblong cylinder. Fruits ripen in the cone - lentil-shaped nuts, which by autumn fall out of the cone and are carried by the wind.

Thanks to its powerful root system, birch easily tolerates any weather, including permafrost. Most trees are light-loving, but they do not have any special requirements for the soil, so they are found everywhere.

If you want to decorate your garden plot with this tree, then choose a place for it with loose, relatively moist soil, enriched with humus, in the vicinity of low-growing spruce and rose hips. Birch will oppress other plants because it grows quickly and has the ability to dehydrate surrounding soils.

The fact that this plant has long and firmly entered our everyday life is evidenced by an old Russian proverb - a riddle: “There is a tree standing, green in color. This tree has four benefits. The first benefit is health for the sick. The second is light from darkness. The third is the healing of the decrepit. And the fourth is a well for people.”

BIRCH IN SLAVIC MYTHOLOGY

Almost all ancient Slavic peoples associate this tree with the feminine principle, purity and chastity. During matchmaking, birch branches carried the symbol of the bride, and oak branches - the groom. And when the first child was born in a young family, a birch tree should be planted next to the house, which would protect all household members from troubles and bring health, happiness and prosperity to the descendants. There was a custom of bringing a sick girl to a birch tree for healing.

In Polesie villages, on the contrary, they avoided birch trees near homes, because such proximity could lead to illnesses in the female half of the house, and growths on the tree trunk indicated damage. There was also a tradition of covering the body of a deceased woman with birch branches.

The ancient Slavs inextricably linked this tree with the souls of the dead. For them, the birch was a kind of bridge connecting the real and otherworldly worlds. On Green Christmastide, a week before Trinity, it was believed that the spirits of the departed came for a while real world and settled in the young foliage of birch trees. This is where the tradition of decorating the doors to the hut with the greenery of this tree on Green Christmastide came from. This was done so that the souls of deceased parents could visit their descendants.

There was another custom - to plant young birch trees near the house and place buckets of water nearby so that the ancestors had a place to visit and something to wash themselves with. To prevent the spirits of the deceased from getting lost, birch branches were laid out on both sides of the porch. It was mandatory these days visiting the dead and in cemeteries. Funeral breakfasts were brought there; among other food there were eggs painted with birch greens. They swept the graves with birch brooms, then opened the eyes of the dead, sticking birch branches into the grave, and after leaving, removing the branches, closing their eyes. Our ancestors believed that this helped them communicate with the dead.

The Poles believed that the souls of tragically dead young girls lived in lonely birch trees. A random traveler passing by such birches at night could get into trouble. After all, when moonlight the souls of the girls left their refuge and could invite him to dance. After such dances, the unfortunate man was found dead in the morning.

Belarusians believed that under the twisted birch trees lie the souls of innocently killed people.

In some beliefs, witches can take not sap from the trunk of a birch tree, but milk from the branches, and fly on birch sticks, not counting brooms. The gifts of the evil one always turned into crooked birch trees (horses) or bark (bread). And if an evil spirit possessed a woman, then the first thing she would do during an attack would be thrown onto a birch tree.

Birch is present in ancient Slavic epics and legends. Our peoples repeat the story from one fairy tale to another about how a mermaid, coming onto land, became a birch tree.

For example, in a forest lake there lived a beautiful little mermaid who loved to walk along its shores in the light of the moon. She was allowed to take walks only until the first rays of the sun. But one day, carried away, the little mermaid broke this rule and did not notice how the radiant god Khors, the sun, appeared in the sky. Khors had never seen such girls on Earth and immediately fell in love with her. The unfortunate woman tried to hide in her native lake, but nothing worked out for her, Horse did not want to let her go and turned her into a thin birch tree with drooping branches like the wonderful hair of the little mermaid.

But in our fairy tales, not only little mermaids become birches, offended by people earthly girls will not escape this fate either. Belarusians even sing songs about this, telling how a beautiful birch tree grew at the site of the death of a young daughter-in-law at the hands of an evil mother-in-law.

Biblical legends most often talk about the healing virtues of this tree. In the villages of eastern Polesie you can still hear the belief that birches are the daughters of Adam. Their braids have grown into the ground, and the tears of the unfortunate girls flow out with birch sap every year.

In the Polish interpretation, the tree that sheltered Christ and Mary from rain and wind was the sacred birch. And in the Russian interpretation, St. Paraskeva-Pyatnitsa found protection from the unclean under the birch tree. There is a belief that when Judas was about to hang himself on a birch tree, the tree turned white with horror.

But the Serbs, on the contrary, curse this tree, believing that they flogged Christ with birch branches when he went to Golgotha.

Be that as it may, this magnificent tree, bringing joy to our souls and giving us health, has always been and will be a symbol of our country.

Used sources.

Family: birch (Betulaceae).

Homeland: North hemisphere.

Form: tree or shrub.

Description

Birch is the most commonly found hardwood species in the Northern Hemisphere. Various types of birch (there are about 120 of them) are distributed from the subtropics to the tundra. Birch is a beautiful tree 30-45 m high or a shrub with an openwork crown. home distinctive feature birch - a white, yellowish or pinkish trunk covered with birch bark. Birch leaves are petiolate, round or lanceolate, entire (rarely lobed), toothed. Birch leaves turn yellow in autumn. Birch blossoms begin before the leaves bloom. Birch flowers are collected in earrings. Birch fruits are single-seeded nuts 1-5 mm long with two membranous wings. Birch trees have a fairly large root system that takes moisture and nutrients from upper layers soil Therefore, the vegetation under the birches is sparse.

The lifespan of a birch is 100-150 years.

In the European part of our country, two types of birch trees are widespread: downy birch and silver birch.

Downy birch (curly birch) (B. pubescens), or birch warty(B. verrucosa) - a tree up to 15 m tall, with a pure white trunk that does not form a dark, rough crust at the base, for which it received another name - white-trunked birch. The crown of the curly birch (warty birch) is widely branched and ovoid. The branches are directed upwards. The bark of young branches is smooth, reddish-brown, later pure white. The leaves of downy birch are shiny, ovate or rhombic, up to 6 cm, sticky and fragrant after blooming.

Silver birch has several forms, of which the most decorative: pyramidal(f. fastigiata) - with a narrow pyramidal crown; mourning(f. tristis) - distinguished by very thin weeping branches and a rounded crown; cabin boy(f. Youngii) - with an irregular, graceful crown, with thin drooping branches; purple(f. purpurea) - with purple leaves.

(B. pendula) - a tree with an openwork, irregular crown. The height of silver birch can reach 20 m. The trunk of silver birch is white. In mature trees, the lower part of the trunk is covered with a rough blackish deep cracks crusty The branches are mostly drooping, for which the silver birch has received another name among the people - weeping birch. The leaves of silver birch are rhombic, glabrous, up to 7 cm, resinous and sticky for some time after blooming. The fruits of silver birch have drooping catkins. Silver birch grows quickly and is frost-resistant.

The following types of birch shrubs are popular.

(B. nana) is an elegant bush up to 1 m high with small round leaves characteristic of birch. In autumn, the leaves of dwarf birch are colored yellow. To grow dwarf birch, it is recommended to buy cultivated specimens.

Ferruginous birch (B. glandulosa) is similar to dwarf birch, but taller (up to 3 m) and has larger leaves.

Birch is low (B. humilis) is a highly branched shrub with a straight crown. The leaves of low birch are oblong and up to 3 cm long.

Birch Medvedeva (B. medwediewii) is a large shrub that becomes tree-like with age. Medvedev's birch is distinguished by its very large, compared to other types of birch, buds and leaves (up to 10 cm long!).

Growing conditions

Birch is an undemanding tree when it comes to soil, but downy birch prefers moister soils and a humid climate. Birch bushes are also not picky about soil, but prefer light sandy loam.

Birch trees need good lighting. With a lack of light, birches become frail and depressed.

Application

Due to their unpretentiousness, birch trees are used in groups, as well as for creating small forest plantations, protective stripes and so on. Birch is indispensable in the garden for landscaping recreation areas. It is possible to plant birch trees, but it should be borne in mind that they lose leaves and branches throughout the summer, so the area around them requires periodic maintenance.

Downy birch is good for planting in marshy and damp places: root system downy birch is able to cope with waterlogging of the soil.

But in urban landscaping, birch trees are not so popular due to the transparency of their crowns and are found mainly in parks and squares.

Dwarf birch trees are suitable for.

Planting and care

Birch tree care is minimal. During drought, watering is required.

Birch replanting is best done in early spring. Birch trees are transplanted before the age of 5-7 years, since older specimens are not well accepted. Autumn replanting of birch trees is not recommended, as it has higher percentage death. When planting birch seedlings, it is not recommended to bury the root collar. Birch roots lie shallow, so they require watering during drought.

Reproduction

Birch propagation is carried out mainly by seeds. Some types of birch (usually cultivated) are taken from cuttings.

Birch seeds are collected during the period of browning of catkins. It is recommended to sow seeds immediately after collection, in late autumn.

Birch seedlings of cultivated species can be found in garden centers and nurseries. Birch seedlings of wild species can be taken from the forest.

Diseases and pests

Dangerous pests of birch are the May beetle and the gypsy moth.

Thanks to its dark stripes and lines, white birch can easily withstand both heat and cold. When it gets too hot, they open and let air inside the plant; in cold weather, on the contrary, they close tightly and prevent the plant from freezing. The vitality of the tree still surprises scientists: after its branches were removed several times from the freezer, the temperature inside which was -273°C, they thawed and came to life.

Birch belongs to the genus of deciduous trees and shrubs of the birch family, which includes about 120 species. Sixty-five species grow in Russia. The tree is widespread throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and therefore can be seen not only in Eurasia, but also in North America, in warm countries with sandy soil and even beyond the Arctic Circle.

Such a wide distribution area is explained by the fact that white birch is undemanding, perfectly tolerates both heat and permafrost, and takes root on any soil. These plants, however, are light-loving, but among them there are many shade-tolerant trees.

It is no coincidence that the people called the tree “white birch”: the color that distinguishes the birch trunk so brightly among deciduous plants is due to the organic dye betulin, which contains a large number of silver ions that have an antimicrobial effect (for this reason there are few microbes near plants, and medicines and products it has a medicinal effect). Accordingly, in the soil of the birch grove the number of this chemical element more than in mixed forest lands.

True, not every species of birch bark is white: in some plants it can be yellowish, pinkish, brown, as well as grey, brown and even black.

Description

According to their descriptions, most species have a height of 30 to 45 meters, although very small specimens are often found: the height of the small tree in the world is from one to one and a half meters, and some shrubs even spread along the ground. Once a tree sprouts, it grows extremely slowly in the first years, but the older it gets, the faster its growth rate.

Birch roots are powerful and, depending on the type of soil, are either superficial or go at an angle deep into the ground. Birch has very high humidity in the spring: increased movement of sap begins inside the plant, when nutrients from the soil rush upward through the roots.

Many people collect plant sap at this time: they make cuts through which the liquid rushes out and can flow out for several weeks (a tall tree can produce about a bucket of sap in a day). As a result of this, the white birch is greatly depleted, and viruses enter it through wounds, which can cause the death of the plant. Therefore, after collecting the juice, the bark must be covered with clay or resin.

Birch leaves are alternate (arranged in a spiral, with one leaf coming from each node of the stem), whole, jagged along the edge, smooth, have a length of about seven and a width of four centimeters. In spring, young leaves are sticky, then this ability is gradually lost. Birch sheds its leaves in the fall, and before falling, the birch leaves turn yellow.

Wood

White birch has strong, dense, light-colored wood with a slight pink or yellowish tint. The pattern on it is weakly expressed, wavy, the growth rings are almost not visible, and reddish, chaotically scattered spots are characteristic. One of the most beautiful woods is the Karelian birch - a low plant that has a highly deformed trunk in the form of spherical swellings and tubercles.

Previously, the Karelian birch was considered a separate species, but now biologists have come to the conclusion that it is a warty (silver) birch, the trunk of which is deformed under certain conditions. That’s why the life of the tree is short: the Karelian birch lives for about forty years (some species live up to one hundred and eighty), and therefore does not have time to grow, and its height is about twenty-five meters.

The Karelian birch became famous for its marble-like texture and color: brown spots on a golden background (due to its properties, expensive products have long been made from it: furniture, decorative items, souvenirs). Scientists have not yet come to a common opinion about the reasons for the appearance of such an amazing pattern. Among the main assumptions why Karelian birch has patterned wood, the following versions are put forward:

• violation of mineral nutrition;
• viral infection;
• hereditary disease.

Despite the fact that when crossing two plants of this species, the Karelian birch passes on its amazing structure by inheritance, the decorative characteristics are not always completely transferred, and it is possible to determine whether the wood will have a pattern no earlier than after five years.

Karelian birch is also of particular value because it is very rare, and therefore its cost exceeds 1.5 thousand dollars, and is sold not by cubic meters, but by weight, in kilograms.

Bloom

All types of birch trees are monoecious plants (they have flowers of the same sex, which have both pistils and stamens), flowering occurs in the spring, birch pollen is carried by the wind.

First, two or three male flowers up to four centimeters long appear in complex inflorescences (birch catkins) in the summer. They consist of a huge number of thyroid scales fused with the main stalk-shaped rod. These plates expand closer to the top; below they have two small scales, each of which is inside has three flowers where the stamens are located.

The outside of the male catkin is covered with a resinous substance, which prevents moisture from penetrating inside and allows it to overwinter peacefully. The birch tree wakes up in the spring, the male catkin lengthens, the scales of the flower open and stamens appear, from which the birch begins to dust in all directions. After this, men's earrings, which were previously absolutely straight, bend and hang.

Female birch catkins are not so noticeable: they are much smaller, thinner, more inconspicuous, and look like small greenish mouse tails. They develop from last year's lateral buds and are always located on the side of the branch. They bloom together with male earrings and during flowering contain a large number of flowers, each containing two ovules.

Pollination of birch occurs with the help of the wind, when birch pollen falls on a flower, one ovule dries out, and the second develops: the female catkin begins to lengthen and, due to the increase in the size of the scales, begins to resemble an oblong cone, which crumbles after the fruits in them ripen.

Seeds, having fallen from the tree (since they are very light, the wind can carry them a hundred meters from the mother tree), are able to immediately begin to germinate, and if conditions are unfavorable, they go into a dormant state and, on occasion, can hatch over the course of several years.

Medicinal characteristics of the tree

White birch has long been famous for its healing properties, and people have long learned to use various parts of the plant (wood, bark, sap, buds, leaves) for their own benefit. Moreover, they are used both in medicine and in other fields of activity.
The medicinal properties of birch can hardly be overestimated: the bark and branches of birch contain betulin, which colors them White color and contains a high percentage of silver. Betulin, entering the blood, improves liver function and reduces joint pain.

Birch sap and decoctions strengthen the immune system, and the plant itself has a beneficial effect on health. Scientists have found that people living near a birch grove are much less susceptible to colds, since volatile phytoncides released by the tree suppress the growth and development of bacteria. Therefore, products using a birch branch are especially valuable. For example, manufactured brooms under the influence of hot air release phytoncides, which sterilize the air and fill it with antiseptics.

In its buds, white birch contains about five percent essential oil, ascorbic acid, higher fatty acids, and various resinous substances. Birch leaves have medicinal properties, which also contain tannins, as well as flamanoids, which improve elasticity. blood vessels and preventing sclerotic diseases.

Tar is obtained from the bark of the plant, which has long been used in medicine as an antiseptic. From the top layer of tree bark, birch bark, which is highly durable, an excellent material is obtained for various crafts: baskets, bast shoes, various kitchen utensils. Peoples Far East they made boats from it, and in Rus' it served as paper (birch bark letter): scribes wrote on it with writing and sharp bone sticks.

Silver birch is a tree known to everyone without exception. early childhood. Folk legends and fairy tales are woven around the culture; legends and omens are associated with it. In nature, warty birch grows almost everywhere. This is a deciduous crop used on the farm in the form of bathhouse brooms, firewood, wood and birch bark. Spreading downy or warty birch often decorates forest belts along settlements. She is not a rare visitor personal plots. Despite the popularity of various exotic large trees, many owners of modern estates decorate them with trees traditional for the area. Among them, silver birch or downy birch takes an honorable leading place, since it is distinguished by its unpretentiousness to growing conditions, rapid vegetative development and excellent decorative characteristics.

See what the silver birch looks like in the photo and in the description offered on this page, study this amazing culture:

Botanical description of silver birch

Downy birch is the most popular tree in our country and, perhaps, the most beautiful. It is difficult to find another tree equal to it in beauty.

Starting the description of the downy birch, it is worth noting that this tree is a mesophanerophyte, a single-stemmed deciduous tree, monoecious.

Continuing the botanical description of silver birch, it is worth saying that its height reaches 20 m in height, has a trunk with smooth white bark, dark and deeply fissured at the base. The branches are drooping, one-year-old branches are red-brown, covered with resinous warts. The leaves are triangular or rhombic-ovate, broadly wedge-shaped at the base, 3.5–7 cm long. The nut is oblong-elliptical, the wings are 2–3 times wider than the nut.

Continuing to consider the characteristics of silver birch, we will tell you that it blooms in the spring, at a time when its buds are just beginning to bloom, and the leaves are still very small. The flowering of the tree is not difficult to notice: long yellowish catkins hang down from thin branches. These are male inflorescences consisting of many staminate flowers. The earrings produce a large amount of yellow powdery pollen, which is carried far by the wind.

Birch “dusts” very profusely. If it rains during the period of pollen dispersal, light yellow spots and stains appear on the steps of the porch and on the roofs of houses located near birch trees.

Women's earrings are much smaller than men's, inconspicuous, inconspicuous, similar to small greenish mouse tails. They are no thicker than a match. These catkins contain many tiny female flowers, consisting of only one pistil. After flowering, female catkins grow greatly. They turn into small green “cylinders”, which at the end of summer turn brown and begin to crumble into separate parts, small three-lobed scales and tiny membranous fruits.

See what a downy birch looks like in the photo, which shows the trunk, branches, leaves and other important parts of the tree:

Silver birch fruit

The fruits of silver birch begin to fall from the trees in early August. Birch fruits are so small that they are barely visible to the naked eye. An individual small fruit is somewhat reminiscent in shape of a butterfly with wide-open wings: in the center there is an elongated seed, on the sides there are two oval wings, which are the thinnest films. Due to its insignificant weight and membranous wings, the birch fruit can be spread by the wind over a considerable distance.

Small birch fruits are often called seeds. But from a botanical point of view, this is incorrect: each of them is formed from the pistil of an extremely small birch flower. However, botanical details are sometimes neglected and the word “seeds” is still used. This is what foresters do, for example, when talking about birch seeds. This has a certain meaning: in ordinary life, a seed is everything that, when sown, produces a new plant. This includes both the seeds themselves and dry fruits containing only one seed. Calling everything with one word “seeds” is in many cases convenient, and it is also more understandable for people who are not very experienced in botany. Of course, where required, a strict distinction must be made between fruits and seeds.

A few words about birch bark.

Birch bark is a protective cover of a tree. It consists of many dead empty cells, tightly glued together with a special substance. These cells are arranged in the same way as well-laid bricks: there are no spaces between them. The cell membranes have undergone a suberization process. Thanks to this, birch bark, like cork, is impermeable to water and gases. But how then do living stem cells breathe? After all, they, like all living things, need oxygen. Breathing is carried out through special vents in the birch bark, the so-called lentils. They look like rather large lines that run across the trunk. Lentils consist of loose tissue, between the cells of which there are spaces - intercellular spaces. Air passes through them. The lentils close for the winter; the spaces between the cells are filled with a special substance. But in the spring they open again.

Anyone who tore off a piece of birch bark noticed that it was layered. An individual layer is slightly thicker than a sheet of paper and is tightly connected to its neighbors. In short, birch bark is somewhat reminiscent of a thin book with many pages stuck together. Each such “page” consists of many suberized cells and grows within one year. The oldest layers of birch bark are on the surface of the trunk, the youngest are in the depths.

Birch bark does not appear on the trunk of a warty birch tree immediately, but only at a certain age. Small birch trees that grow from seed, when their trunk still looks like a twig, have a brownish bark. Only after a dozen or two years does a solid white cover of birch bark form on the tree trunk.

Distribution of silver birch or warty birch

Silver birch or warty birch has a wide distribution area, covering the entire European part Russia, Western Siberia, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Drooping birch in the Northern, Middle and Southern Urals widespread and is the main forest-forming species of small-leaved forests, forming the second layer in pine-birch forests. Occasionally found in the southern regions of the Polar Urals, exclusively in river valleys outside mountain areas.

Downy birch in the Northern, Middle and Southern Urals is distributed sporadically in all regions; it prefers damp swampy forests, the edges of sphagnum bogs, floodplains, clearings and burnt areas. In the Polar Urals it is found occasionally, mainly in mountain small forests.

By studying the description of warty birch, you can find out interesting fact that it is called a pioneer tree. It is the first of the tree species to take over any free piece of land: abandoned arable land, exposed slopes near roads, fires, etc. This is the first settler in any areas freed from forest. Birch can be found even in places that seem completely unsuitable for plants in general: on the eaves of old stone houses, crumbling brick walls, etc.

The wide distribution of birch is due to two reasons. Firstly, because its tiny winged fruits are easily carried by the wind and often end up very far from the mother tree. And secondly, birch is unpretentious tree species. It can grow on almost any soil, ranging from very dry and poor sands to low-lying swamps, where there is excess water and many nutrients. In this respect, it surpasses even the extremely unassuming pine. But birch is very light-loving and does not tolerate shading at all. Therefore, it is usually replaced by other trees in the forest sooner or later.

The eternal enemy of birch is spruce. This coniferous tree often settles under the canopy of a birch forest and feels great here. Who hasn’t seen an old birch forest with numerous young fir trees? Sometimes there are so many of them that they form impenetrable thickets. Time passes, young fir trees grow up and displace the birch tree, which once gave them shelter under its canopy. In place of the birch forest reigns spruce forest. In the natural course of events, if there are no fires or human intervention, the spruce forest will never give way to the birch forest.

Old spruce trees in the forest will gradually die off, one after another, and younger ones will take their place. Birch is denied access here.

But then a lumberjack came to the spruce forest. A few hours of work - and all that was left of the spruce forest were stumps. This is where the birch takes revenge: young birch trees quickly appear in the clearing. It grows up and turns into a birch forest. But soon young fir trees settle under the canopy of birch trees, and everything repeats all over again.

So, if you see a birch forest in nature, it is almost always a derivative forest. It was formed on the site of a cut down indigenous forest, most often coniferous.

See what the warty birch looks like in the photo, which illustrates the facts of the struggle of this tree with coniferous species:

Reproduction of silver birch

Silver birch seeds, having fallen from the tree, are able to germinate immediately if conditions are favorable for this. But if, once on the ground, they find themselves in an unsuitable environment (for example, on the surface of dry soil), then germination, of course, does not occur. However, the seeds do not die, but rather go into hibernation. Any description of silver birch says that the seeds retain their ability to germinate for several years. All this time they can lie dormant somewhere in the forest floor or in the very top layer of forest soil. When suitable conditions appear, they will begin to germinate.

In addition to seeds, birch, like many others deciduous trees, can reproduce by shoots from a stump. After an adult, not too old tree is cut down, a mass of young shoots grows from the stump. Over time, they greatly increase in size and become cramped. The stronger survive, the weak die. There are fewer and fewer stems. In the end, there are usually no more than four or five of them left, and they grow into mature trees.

Birch trees grown from a stump have a characteristic trunk shape - they look like sabers. Each trunk is slightly curved at the base, and then straightens and grows almost vertically. These trunks are always collected in a bunch. That is why in birch groves we so often see not single trees, but entire “families” of two, three or more trunks. Not everyone will guess that a bunch of trunks is nothing more than twin trees, shoots from one stump. After all, by this time the mother’s stump is completely destroyed and nothing remains of it.

What benefits does birch give to humans, what is it good for?

The economic uses of this tree are wide and varied. Birch firewood produces a lot of heat and in this regard is probably second only to oak firewood. Skis, furniture, and various turning products are made from birch. The painful swellings on the trunks of burl birches are of great value. These burrs, called “Karelian birch,” are widely used for various crafts (boxes, furniture decoration, etc.). Excellent coal is obtained from birch and tar is produced. Birch brooms are also in great demand. Birch bark - good remedy for lighting stoves and fires when paper or kerosene is not available. Our ancestors used birch bark as a material for writing. This is a kind of “northern papyrus”.

And who is unfamiliar with birch sap? In early spring, if the trunk is wounded, this transparent, slightly sweetish liquid oozes out drop by drop. But such “bleeding” is harmful to the tree. The plant is depleted - it is deprived of its reserves necessary for the formation of young shoots and foliage (after all, the juice carries nutrients for these organs). Through the wound, microorganisms enter living tissues and cause various tree diseases. The wound itself does not heal for a long time, becomes covered with pink mucus and has an extremely untidy appearance.

In case of functional renal failure, acute inflammatory processes in them, as well as during pregnancy, it is not recommended to use preparations based on birch raw materials, since the resinous substances contained in it have an irritating effect on the renal parenchyma.

Procurement, resources and rational use. Birch buds collected before they bloom in the winter-spring period (from January to April). Branches with buds are dried for 3-4 weeks in the air or in cool rooms, since even at room temperature the buds can begin to bloom. After drying, the buds are threshed. Leaves are harvested in May-June during the period of full development.

Why is the birch trunk white?

Now about coloring the birch trunk. Why is he white? What makes it white? Birch bark cells contain a special dye, betulin. If you carelessly lean against the trunk of a young birch tree in a black jacket or coat, white spots will appear on your clothes, like chalk.

But in nature, not only the birch trunk has a white color. The petals of some flowers are also colored (for example, apple trees, strawberries, bird cherry trees). What causes their white color? It turns out that it is not at all like that of birch. White petals consist of completely transparent and colorless very small cells (like snow made of ice crystals). But between the cells there are small spaces - intercellular spaces filled with air. They reflect light strongly and create a white color effect. In other words, white coloring in many plants is achieved without any special dye. A rare exception to this rule is birch.

Interesting Facts.

In ancient pagan times, the main goddess of the Slavs was Bereginya, who was revered by the people as the mother of all earthly riches and the mistress of the spirits - forest, heaven and water. The sacred tree of Beregini was the birch, which was worshiped by “curling” its branches, decorating it with ribbons and wreaths in the spring. Belief in pagan gods has sunk into oblivion, however, among the Slavic and Baltic peoples, the beautiful white-trunked birch is still a symbol of radiance, purity, and femininity. About 40 species of birch trees are found in the forests of Russia, but as medicine Silver birch, also called warty, downy, weeping and white, has found extremely widespread use.

Silver birch is a very short-lived tree. And although it is believed that it can reach an age of 300 years, in our forests trees older than 150 years are rare. But in terms of prevalence, birch groves occupy third place in our country after pine and deciduous forests.

In pre-Slavic times, the name of the tree sounded like “birza” and meant light, white, and it itself was perceived as a living, powerful creature, capable of fulfilling desires and giving health. Already in herbalists of the 16th–17th centuries there were recommendations for the use of birch leaves and buds. For medicinal purposes, it is necessary to collect tender, newly blossomed leaves before they lose their stickiness and balsamic aroma. It is in such raw materials that there are many vitamins, micro- and macroelements, tannins; there are also butyl ether, saponins, essential oils, alcohols, glycosides, etc.

Look how silver birch grows - the photo shows options for planting it on a personal plot: