Life expectancy of trees of different species. How many years does birch live - Russian beauty

Birch has long been considered the most favorite tree of poets, artists and ordinary people. They wrote poems about it, sang songs, painted it, and used it in medicine. This is a beautiful tree with interesting colors, delicious juice and medicinal pollen. Throughout its life, people use healing branches, leaves, buds, and bark. It seems to people that the birch tree lives forever.

Birch. Types and lifespan

There are about 120 species of birch, 64 species are found in the forests of Russia. Average duration The life of a birch is about a hundred years and depends on living conditions. In principle, this is an unpretentious tree that can live well in any soil. The main thing is that it is wet, since birch loves water and consumes up to 250 liters per day.

IN Russian forests birches live no more than 120 years, with the exception of iron birch, whose lifespan is almost 400 years.

Just 100 years ago, birch was more rare tree than now. It grew mainly along river banks and in forests in place of fallen coniferous trees. So she grew up in different places of the taiga. For more than 150 years, the birch tree did not stay in one place.

The birch tree has permanent places habitat. On the border of the forest near the Arctic Circle there grows twisted birch, in the Pamirs - Pamir birch with pink bark, in the Caucasus - Radde birch, also with pink bark, in Transbaikalia - black birch with shaggy bark.

On Far East Stone birch grows. Its age is 3-4 times greater than white birch and is 500 years old. Its trunk is more like an apple tree, the only difference is in the bark. The color of the bark is neither like a birch nor an apple tree. This is a pink-gray bark that lags behind the tree itself and hangs down in long strips.

Warty birch or silver birch are widespread. She grows quite quickly, starting from the age of 10, she grows by 75-90 cm per year and lives 50-60 years.

Application in medicine

IN folk medicine They use everything that birch can provide. It is an excellent immunostimulating, cleansing and vitamin remedy. Bath brooms are made from branches and leaves, which, under the influence of hot air in the bath, release essential healing oils that have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and the entire human body.

Birch buds help with many diseases, because they contain essential oils, tannins, resins, grape sugar, flavonoids and ascorbic acid. It is a good antiseptic and expectorant that is used to treat organ diseases respiratory system. In addition, they are used in the form of lotions or dressings for various soft tissue wounds.

Birch leaves have a bactericidal effect, help cope with headaches, rheumatism, and disorders nervous system. Decoctions and infusions are used in the upper respiratory tract, arthritis, gynecology and dermatovenerology.

These are not all the diseases that birch treats.

Grow a birch tree yourself

Any gardener dreams of having a long-lived birch tree on his plot. It is not difficult to grow. You can purchase ready-made ones, preferably with a ball of earth on the roots.

Dig enough deep hole, a mixture of garden soil, humus, sand and peat is added there.

If planting occurs in the spring, you can add a complex fertilizer, in the fall - phosphorus-potassium fertilizer in the amount of 200 grams. The distance between seedlings should be at least 4 meters, since the birch root system is actively developing and requires a lot of space.

You can grow birch from seeds, which are sown in shallow holes and covered with a layer of humus. Before planting, they must be kept in the cold for a month, then dried at room temperature. Seeds are sown at the beginning of winter in already frozen soil or early spring, immediately after the snow melts.

This healing tree, it is important to pay attention to the control of weeds that can interfere with the development of the plant. You need to weed the soil regularly, but not deeper than 3 cm, so as not to damage the roots. In order to prevent fungi and various pests, the tree crown must be sprayed with fungicides and insecticidal preparations every year.

Having grown a birch tree on your site, you will be able to use it throughout your life. healing properties. It will become an indispensable assistant in the fight against many diseases. Thanks to its impressive life expectancy, birch will be useful for more than one generation.

- This is the pride and symbol of the Slavs. It is often called the tree of life.

Birch it is not without reason that it is considered sacred tree, a spiritual symbol. Since ancient times, she has been taking care of people. Leaves - for health, branches - for brooms, bark for writing, crafts, tar and fire, wood for warmth.

Birch in Rus' has always been associated with a young maiden with her purity, whiteness, and sophistication. Branches Birches bending over the traveler, as if female hands to embrace him in your tender embrace.

Birch name

The Russian word Birch comes from Praslav. berza, from the root *bhereĝ- “to glow, turn white.”

Where does Birch grow?

Birch widespread throughout Russia and Northern Hemisphere in general, even beyond the Arctic Circle. Birch is undemanding and tolerates both heat and cold.

Dwarf Birch grows in the tundras of Europe and North America and mountain tundras of Siberia. It does not even reach 1 m in height. During the glacial and post-glacial periods, this Birch was distributed much further to the south; now it is found there only in swamps as a relic.

What does Birch look like?

Birch is probably familiar to everyone. But let’s write a few words anyway.

Birch- a tall light tree with a spreading crown. It is always light in the Birch Forest, and not only because of the white trunks. Birch leaves are not large and the crown lets in a lot of light.

Birch height usually 15-30m. However, Birch's life is not long. Actually, 1st century. Birch usually lives about 100 years.

Birch bark in most species it is white. The outer part of the bark - birch bark - usually peels off easily in ribbons. In old Birch trees, the lower part of the trunk is covered with a dark crust with deep cracks.

Birch leaves are small, jagged, pointed at the end, and sticky in spring.

Birch Flowers- earrings. Birch's earrings are not all the same: some are for men, some are for women.

Men's earrings on Bereza appear in the summer. At first they are standing and green, then gradually turn brown. The outside of the entire earring is covered with a resinous substance impenetrable to moisture. In this form, the earrings overwinter.

In the spring, in March - May, the shaft of the male catkin lengthens, as a result of which the scales surrounding the flower open, and yellow stamens become noticeable between them, abundantly releasing pollen.

Women's birch catkins They always sit on the side of the branch. During flowering, they are always shorter and narrower than male ones, which immediately fall off after pollination.

When to collect birch leaves?

Birch leaves It should be collected in mid-May, as soon as the leaves are no longer sticky.

Harvesting Birch leaves in May - June - birch leaves should be fragrant and sticky, young, and not coarse. To dry, birch leaves are placed on wide paper sheets in a dark, cool place with good ventilation.

Medicinal properties of Birch

Basic medicinal properties Birches: antimicrobial, wound healing, good anti-inflammatory properties, resorption ability - that’s far from full list the wonderful properties of these leaves.

Diuretic, and most importantly choleretic properties are often used by herbalists in a wide variety of preparations.

Birch leaves have a rich composition - essential oils, phytoncides, vitamin C, carotene, plant glycosides, tannins, nicotinic acid and other elements. A decoction of birch leaves is used as a disinfectant and antiseptic, a diuretic and choleretic drug.

Infusion made from birch leaves is more saturated, so it is used for local treatment. Alcohol and essential substances that contain birch leaves have antimycotic and antiviral effects. Tannins, which birch leaves are rich in, have bactericidal and anti-inflammatory properties. Phytoncides and flavonoids are antioxidants that absorb free radicals, therefore Birch leaves can rejuvenate cells and tissues and restore them.

Infusion from young birch leaves is used as a stimulant, prescribed for disorders of the nervous system, renal colic, jaundice, as an anti-inflammatory and vitamin remedy.

Birch buds are diaphoretic, diuretic and choleretic. For diseases of the kidneys and bladder, dropsy, use a water infusion or decoction in a ratio of 1:5. Kidney infusions are prepared at the rate of 2 teaspoons per glass of boiling water. Take 2-3 tablespoons 3-4 times a day. A decoction is prepared from 30 g of buds per glass of water and is also taken as an infusion.

Made from birch leaves vitamin drink: young leaves are crushed and poured with hot boiled water, left for 4 hours.

Birch sap. Birch sap is not only tasty but also healthy, has a good general strengthening effect, its ability to dissolve stones has been revealed, so the sap is used in complex therapy for urolithiasis.

The usefulness of birch sap is determined by its chemical composition, the presence of many valuable substances, in particular glucose and fructose, which are well absorbed by the body, nicotinic, glutamic, aminoacetic acids.

Birch broom in the bath it promotes the healing of wounds, abrasions, cleanses the skin of rashes and acne. Helps well after physical activity, relieves pain and tension in muscles. And its main advantage is that it helps improve ventilation in the lungs.

It is believed that Birch smell cures melancholy and helps against the evil eye, and birch sap, collected on special days in March and April, purifies the blood.

Birch bark- one of the best means for starting a fire in any weather.

Sometimes on Bereza you can see growths - cap- when cut, they have a peculiar complex and beautiful pattern. Treated burls have long been used to make elegant crafts: boxes, snuff boxes, decorative furniture parts.

Birch is also characterized by specific types of mushrooms- destroyers of dead wood (saprotrophic), which play a vital role in the process of self-cleaning of forests from dead wood and windbreaks.

Why is Birch white? The cavities of birch bark cells are filled with a white resinous substance - betulin, which gives birch bark its white color.

In beekeeping, Birch is important as a pollen carrier. After all, bees collect not only nectar, but also pollen - the main source squirrel and vitamins.

People living near a birch grove are much less likely to suffer from colds, since the volatile phytoncides released by the tree suppress the growth and development of bacteria.

Birch is a very widespread tree in the northern hemisphere. Many peoples associated their beliefs and their gods with it, used it in everyday life and for treatment. What does this symbol represent? northern peoples what it looks like, what species are more common and how birch is used in agriculture and medicine - this will be discussed further.

What it looks like: biological description

White slender trunks with black spots, green sharp leaves, flexible branches - birch in northern latitudes not difficult to find.

Bark

The color of the bark of most birch species is light - from yellowish to reddish-brown. There are trees with black and gray bark. The tree looks white because of betulin, a substance in the cork layer of the bark; it fills all the cavities in this layer. Most top layer bark, called birch bark, is quite thin and easily separated from the trunk.

Leaves

The leaves are entire, arranged alternately on the branches, rounded-triangular in shape, widened at the base and tapering towards the edge, jagged. In autumn they change color to yellow and fall off. Young leaves are covered with a glue-like substance.

Buds, male and female earrings

The buds are alternate, covered with sticky spiral scales.

Flowers are divided into male and female. The male ones, formed into inflorescences resembling earrings, grow on long shoots of two to four pieces. At first they are green, up to 4 cm long, then they begin to darken.

Earrings consist of flowers covered with scales; Each flower contains a perianth with stamens. Covered with resin that protects the stamens from moisture, the flowers overwinter and begin to open in the spring.

In the spring, from March to May, the flowers release pollen, which is carried by the wind, after which the catkins fall off.

Did you know? Birch trees are male - « Berezun» and for women - birch. They can be distinguished by the direction of growth of the branches - in males the branches are directed upwards, in females - to the sides.

Female catkins appear at the ends of short branches that develop from last year's shoots; they are smaller than male ones. Both male and female flowers bloom at the same time.

After fertilization, the female earring enlarges and a stalk may appear; gradually the earring turns into a small “bump”. When the fruit ripens, the earring falls off.

Fetus

The fruit is a nut, flattened on both sides and surrounded by small membranes.

Seeds

Birch seeds are light - there are up to 5000 seeds in one gram. They are well carried by the wind. They fall in two stages - autumn and winter. Winter seeds survive well under the snow and begin to germinate in a new place in the spring.

Root system

The root system is powerful and branched, usually going deep into the soil. Superficial roots are occasionally found. The roots going down branch at depth, becoming overgrown with many thin fibrous roots.

Thanks to this structure of the roots, in the third or fourth year of development the tree begins to grow quickly and actively.

Where does birch grow?

Species diversity determines the wide distribution of birches in the northern hemisphere. These trees coexist comfortably both in the Arctic Circle and in the tropics of Asia.

Their wide distribution is also due to their unpretentiousness to the composition of the soil - they survive both in permafrost in the Arctic Circle and in mountainous regions, and dwarf birch shrubs grow actively in the tundra.

Main types

There is no exact and uniform opinion on the number of species of these trees; Most botanists agree that there are more than 100 species of the Birch genus in the world. All of them are divided into four groups:

The most common types:

Some features

There are some features that distinguish birch from many other trees and make it dominant in forests. So, it is this tree that becomes the first in an empty space, be it felled, burned or exposed.

Average height, trunk girth

In most species, the trunk height reaches 30 m. Some specimens grow up to 40-45 meters. There are also dwarfs, whose height does not exceed 2-3 meters.

The most common trees are those with a trunk girth of up to 150 cm.

Growth rate

At first, the birch tree grows quite slowly. But after three or four years the situation changes and growth accelerates. Thanks to high speed young growth can compete with fast-growing grass.

Did you know? In various ritual and religious folk rituals birch occupies an important place - the Celts buried their dead in birch bark hats, and in Orthodoxy they decorate homes and churches with birch branches on the feast of the Holy Trinity.

Lifespan

The average lifespan of a birch is 100-150 years. There are trees that live for 300-400 years.

Frost resistance

Many species tolerate moderate frosts very well. Some survive even in the Arctic, at high negative temperatures. There are also those, such as malleable birch and river birch, that do not tolerate cold weather well and prefer temperate climate with mild winters.

Chemical composition

Different parts of the tree are rich in different chemical elements, causing them beneficial properties and appearance.

Bark

The bark of almost all varieties contains betulin, a white organic pigment that gives the bark white. The betulin content ranges from 5 to 44%, depending on the type of tree.

Kidneys

Birch buds contain resins, alkaloids, vitamin C, flavonoids and fatty acids. Essential oils are also present.

Leaves

The leaves are rich in essential oils, dammaran derivatives, coumarins, tannins and flavonoids.

How to use

Birch trees have found their use in economic activity human, medical practice and design.

In landscape design

In landscape design, birch trees are widely used to design ponds, alleys and create group compositions with coniferous plants. Exotic species are also used as central plants of the site.

Important! It should be remembered that birch has an overwhelming effect on most plants, as it grows and develops faster, drying out the soil around it. In addition, its rotting foliage oppresses many plant species.

In beekeeping

Bees do not collect birch pollen very readily. But the sticky resin from leaves and bark serves as a good source of a substance vital for a bee swarm.

In folk medicine

Healers and herbalists actively use birch in their medicines. Products based on it heal wounds well, eliminate inflammation, relieve fever, and are an excellent diuretic. And everyone has heard about a bathhouse with birch brooms - this is how our ancestors treated colds, wounds and skin diseases, and relieved fatigue.

Important!Birch-based products can be dangerous for people with kidney disease, so they should be used with caution.

Wood

Firewood this wood gives a lot of heat and burns for a long time - this is one of the best breeds for heating stoves.

It is not suitable as a material for construction - it begins to rot and be destroyed by fungi very quickly, but it is a good material for furniture and various crafts. Karelian birch with its unusual wood texture is especially valued.

Good and durable skis, weapon butts, and toys are made from birch; It is also suitable as a raw material for creating plywood.

Cap- growth on trunks - serves as a good material for creating snuff boxes, cigarette cases, and various souvenirs.

Tar

This is a liquid obtained from the pyrolysis of wood. Birch tar contains paraffin, creosote, toluene, and resins. Mainly produced in Russian Empire, was exported and was known abroad as “Russian butter”.

It was used as a preservative in the leather industry to protect against rotting and in the manufacture of yuft (soft leather), as a lubricant for wooden parts, including wheels, to protect against insects and pests in the garden.

How many years does a birch tree live?

Birch has long been considered the most favorite tree of poets, artists and ordinary people. They wrote poems about it, sang songs, painted it, and used it in medicine. This is a beautiful tree with interesting colors, tasty sap and medicinal pollen. Throughout its life, people use healing branches, leaves, buds, and bark. It seems to people that the birch tree lives forever.

Birch. Types and lifespan

There are about 120 species of birch, 64 species are found in the forests of Russia. The average lifespan of a birch is about one hundred years and depends on living conditions. In principle, this is an unpretentious tree that can live well in any soil. The main thing is that the soil is moist, since birch loves water and consumes up to 250 liters per day.

In Russian forests, birches live no more than 120 years, with the exception of iron birch, whose lifespan is almost 400 years.

Just 100 years ago, birch was a rarer tree than it is now. It grew mainly along river banks and in forests where coniferous trees had fallen. So she grew up in different places of the taiga. For more than 150 years, the birch tree did not stay in one place.

Birch also has permanent habitats. On the border of the forest near the Arctic Circle there grows twisted birch, in the Pamirs - Pamir birch with pink bark, in the Caucasus - Radde birch, also with pink bark, in Transbaikalia - black birch with shaggy bark.

Stone birch grows in the Far East. Its age is 3-4 times greater than white birch and is 500 years old. Its trunk is more like an apple tree, the only difference is in the bark. The color of the bark is neither like a birch nor an apple tree. This is a pink-gray bark that lags behind the tree itself and hangs down in long strips.

Warty birch or silver birch are widespread. She grows quite quickly, starting from the age of 10, she grows by 75-90 cm per year and lives 50-60 years.

Application in medicine

In folk medicine, they use everything that birch can provide. Its juice is an excellent immunostimulating, cleansing and vitamin remedy. Bath brooms are made from branches and leaves, which, under the influence of hot air in the bath, release essential healing oils that have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and the entire human body.

Birch buds help well with many diseases, because they contain essential oils, tannins, resins, grape sugar, flavonoids and ascorbic acid. It is a good antiseptic and expectorant that is used to treat diseases of the respiratory system. In addition, they are used in the form of lotions or dressings for various soft tissue wounds.

Birch leaves have a bactericidal effect and help cope with headaches, rheumatism, and nervous system disorders. Decoctions and infusions are used in the treatment of the upper respiratory tract, arthritis, gynecology and dermatovenerology.

These are not all the diseases that birch treats.

Grow a birch tree yourself

Any gardener dreams of having a long-lived birch tree on his plot. It is not difficult to grow. Seedlings can be purchased ready-made, preferably with a ball of earth on the roots.

Dig a fairly deep hole and add a mixture of garden soil, humus, sand and peat.

When growing this healing tree, it is important to pay attention to the control of weeds that can interfere with the development of the plant. You need to weed the soil regularly, but not deeper than 3 cm, so as not to damage the roots. In order to prevent fungi and various pests, the tree crown must be sprayed with fungicides and insecticidal preparations every year.

By growing a birch tree on your property, you will be able to enjoy its healing properties throughout your life. It will become an indispensable assistant in the fight against many diseases. Thanks to its impressive life expectancy, birch will be useful for more than one generation.

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