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Herbs & Plants (Spices)

Betula alleghaniensis

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Botanical Name: Betula alleghaniensis
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Betula
Subgenus: Betulenta
Species: B. alleghaniensis
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Eudicots, Magnoliophyta, >Magnoliopsida
Order: Fagales

Synonyms : Betula lutea.

Common Names: Yellow Birch,Swamp Birch, Golden Birch.(Betula alleghaniensis is the provincial tree of Quebec, where it is commonly called Merisier, a name which in France is used for the wild cherry.)

Habitat :Betula alleghaniensis is native to North-eastern N. America – Newfoundland to Virginia and Tennessee. It is usually found in moist well-drained soils in rich woodlands on lower slopes, it is also found in cool marshlands in the south of its range.
Description:
Betula alleghaniensis is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 20 meters (66 ft) tall (exceptionally to 30 m) with a trunk up to 80 cm (2.6 ft) diameter. The bark is smooth, yellow-bronze, flaking in fine horizontal strips, and often with small black marks and scars. The twigs, when scraped, have a slight scent of wintergreen oil, though not as strongly so as the related Sweet Birch. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 6–12 cm long (2.4–4.7 in) and 4–9 cm broad (1.6–3.5 in), with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3–6 cm long (1.2–2.4 in); the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit, mature in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Bloom Color: Green, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval.

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
Landscape Uses:Specimen, Woodland garden. Succeeds in a well-drained loamy soil in a sheltered position. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Dislikes wet soils. Shade tolerant. A slow-growing tree, it is relatively long-lived for a birch, with specimens 200 years old recorded. Plants often grow taller than the 12 metres mentioned above. The trees are highly susceptible to forest fires, even when wet the bark is highly inflammable. The bruised foliage has a strong smell of wintergreen. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Trees are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Special Features: Attracts birds, North American native, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a light position in a cold frame. Only just cover the seed and place the pot in a sunny position. Spring sown seed should be surface sown in a sunny position in a cold frame. If the germination is poor, raising the temperature by covering the seed with glass can help. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. If you have sufficient seed, it can be sown in an outdoor seedbed, either as soon as it is ripe or in the early spring – do not cover the spring sown seed. Grow the plants on in the seedbed for 2 years before planting them out into their permanent positions in the winter.
Edible Uses:
Inner bark – cooked or dried and ground into a powder and used with cereals in making bread. Inner bark is generally only seen as a famine food, used when other forms of starch are not available or are in short supply. Sap – raw or cooked. A sweet flavour. The sap is harvested in early spring, before the leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk. It flows abundantly, but the sugar content is much lower than maple sap. A pleasant drink, it can also be concentrated into a syrup or fermented into a beer. An old English recipe for the beer is as follows:- “To every Gallon of Birch-water put a quart of Honey, well stirr’d together; then boil it almost an hour with a few Cloves, and a little Limon-peel, keeping it well scumm’d. When it is sufficiently boil’d, and become cold, add to it three or four Spoonfuls of good Ale to make it work…and when the Test begins to settle, bottle it up . . . it is gentle, and very harmless in operation within the body, and exceedingly sharpens the Appetite, being drunk ante pastum.”. A tea is made from the twigs and leaves. The dried leaves are used according to another report. An excellent flavour. The twigs and leaves have the flavour of wintergreen and can be used as condiments.
Medicinal Uses:
Yellow birch is little used medicinally, though a decoction of the bark has been used by the native North American Indians as a blood purifier, acting to cleanse the body by its emetic and cathartic properties. The bark is a source of ‘Oil of Wintergreen‘. This does have medicinal properties, though it is mainly used as a flavouring in medicines.

Other Uses
Containers; Fuel; Waterproofing; Wood.

The bark is waterproof and has been used by native peoples as the outer skin of canoes, as roofing material on dwellings and to make containers such as buckets, baskets and dishes. Wood – close-grained, very strong, hard, heavy. The wood is too dense to float. An important source of hardwood lumber, it is used for furniture, boxes, tubs of wheels, floors etc. It is also often used as a fuel

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_alleghaniensis
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Betula+alleghaniensis

Related articles
Categories
Herbs & Plants (Spices)

Betula alleghaniensis

[amazon_link asins=’B00NKH41LY,B00MON0QBO,B0007AJWLQ,B004V2XQIG,B00072PRIQ’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’finmeacur-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c266ed61-9d02-11e7-84e7-cf2fbecf6ddf’]

Botanical Name: Betula alleghaniensis
Family: Betulaceae
Genus: Betula
Subgenus: Betulenta
Species: B. alleghaniensis
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Eudicots, Magnoliophyta, >Magnoliopsida
Order: Fagales

Synonyms : Betula lutea.

Common Names: Yellow Birch,Swamp Birch, Golden Birch.(Betula alleghaniensis is the provincial tree of Quebec, where it is commonly called Merisier, a name which in France is used for the wild cherry.)

Habitat :Betula alleghaniensis is native to North-eastern N. America – Newfoundland to Virginia and Tennessee. It is usually found in moist well-drained soils in rich woodlands on lower slopes, it is also found in cool marshlands in the south of its range.
Description:
Betula alleghaniensis is a medium-sized deciduous tree reaching 20 meters (66 ft) tall (exceptionally to 30 m) with a trunk up to 80 cm (2.6 ft) diameter. The bark is smooth, yellow-bronze, flaking in fine horizontal strips, and often with small black marks and scars. The twigs, when scraped, have a slight scent of wintergreen oil, though not as strongly so as the related Sweet Birch. The leaves are alternate, ovate, 6–12 cm long (2.4–4.7 in) and 4–9 cm broad (1.6–3.5 in), with a finely serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins 3–6 cm long (1.2–2.4 in); the male catkins pendulous, the female catkins erect. The fruit, mature in fall, is composed of numerous tiny winged seeds packed between the catkin bracts.

Bloom Color: Green, Yellow. Main Bloom Time: Early spring, Late spring, Mid spring. Form: Oval.

CLICK & SEE THE PICTURES

Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
Landscape Uses:Specimen, Woodland garden. Succeeds in a well-drained loamy soil in a sheltered position. Grows well in heavy clay soils. Dislikes wet soils. Shade tolerant. A slow-growing tree, it is relatively long-lived for a birch, with specimens 200 years old recorded. Plants often grow taller than the 12 metres mentioned above. The trees are highly susceptible to forest fires, even when wet the bark is highly inflammable. The bruised foliage has a strong smell of wintergreen. Hybridizes freely with other members of this genus. Trees are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Special Features: Attracts birds, North American native, Inconspicuous flowers or blooms.

Propagation:
Seed – best sown as soon as it is ripe in a light position in a cold frame. Only just cover the seed and place the pot in a sunny position. Spring sown seed should be surface sown in a sunny position in a cold frame. If the germination is poor, raising the temperature by covering the seed with glass can help. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. If you have sufficient seed, it can be sown in an outdoor seedbed, either as soon as it is ripe or in the early spring – do not cover the spring sown seed. Grow the plants on in the seedbed for 2 years before planting them out into their permanent positions in the winter.
Edible Uses:

Inner bark – cooked or dried and ground into a powder and used with cereals in making bread. Inner bark is generally only seen as a famine food, used when other forms of starch are not available or are in short supply[K]. Sap – raw or cooked. A sweet flavour.  The sap is harvested in early spring, before the leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk. It flows abundantly, but the sugar content is much lower than maple sap. A pleasant drink, it can also be concentrated into a syrup or fermented into a beer. An old English recipe for the beer is as follows:- “To every Gallon of Birch-water put a quart of Honey, well stirr’d together; then boil it almost an hour with a few Cloves, and a little Limon-peel, keeping it well scumm’d. When it is sufficiently boil’d, and become cold, add to it three or four Spoonfuls of good Ale to make it work…and when the Test begins to settle, bottle it up . . . it is gentle, and very harmless in operation within the body, and exceedingly sharpens the Appetite, being drunk ante pastum.”. A tea is made from the twigs and leaves. The dried leaves are used according to another report.  An excellent flavour. The twigs and leaves have the flavour of wintergreen and can be used as condiments.
Medicinal Uses:
Yellow birch is little used medicinally, though a decoction of the bark has been used by the native North American Indians as a blood purifier, acting to cleanse the body by its emetic and cathartic properties. The bark is a source of ‘Oil of Wintergreen‘. This does have medicinal properties, though it is mainly used as a flavouring in medicines.

Other Uses
Containers; Fuel; Waterproofing; Wood.

The bark is waterproof and has been used by native peoples as the outer skin of canoes, as roofing material on dwellings and to make containers such as buckets, baskets and dishes. Wood – close-grained, very strong, hard, heavy. The wood is too dense to float. An important source of hardwood lumber, it is used for furniture, boxes, tubs of wheels, floors etc. It is also often used as a fuel

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betula_alleghaniensis
http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Betula+alleghaniensis

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Positive thinking

How to Deal With the Uncontrollable

Identify the Uncontrollable:

All you have to do these days is turn on CNN to realize how out of control the world is.

First there are the big things — war, terrorism, famine, political gridlock. But then there are the smaller things that are out of your control, ranging from the weather to your job to your son or daughter. And if you’re a controlling person — someone who has to have everything just so, in its right place in just the right way — then feeling out of control is one of the most stressful things that could ever happen to you.

There are some golden rule of life hasn’t changed, and never will: Stuff happens. Much of it you can’t control. What you can control is how you react to it and how much it affects you physically, financially, or otherwise. Here are some ways to gain back a bit of control when you feel like your world is spinning off its axis:

1. Above all else, distinguish what you can’t control from what you can. Then direct your energies to influencing the latter, and accepting the former. This might sound simplistic, but you’d be amazed at how many people still think they can control traffic, or the weather, or their boss’s mood, or the stock market. Make a list of all the things in your life that you can’t control, no matter how hard you try, and post it on your refrigerator and your computer. Then accept it. Of course you can care about these things, and try to influence their outcome. But it’s essential that you untie your emotional well-being from those things you cannot alter.

2. When things feel out of control, clean a closet or drawer. It worked for therapist Rebecca Fuller Ward, author of How to Stay Married Without Going Crazy. The night her mother had a heart attack, she cleaned out her pantry. “That I could control,” she says.

3. Take up a new hobby. Mastering a new skill, whether it’s paddling a kayak or learning to knit, will return a sense of control to your life.

4. When bad things happen, sit down and write out what you might have done differently. This self-assessment is not to blame and beat up on yourself; it’s a chance to say, I may not control everything, but I do control me! What can I do with me that will make this situation work better and turn out more to my liking? So, if you get a bad evaluation at work, don’t respond to it by blaming your boss or blaming your bad luck. Instead, says Patricia Farrell, Ph.D., author of How to Be Your Own Therapist, be honest with yourself about what you could have done differently that year — come into work on time, met all your deadlines, etc. — to garner a better result. Understanding your role in the situation will help you realize that the world actually is a fairly controllable place.

5. When things feel out of control, pick one thing in your life to work on that you can make a difference in. For instance, start an exercise program, write in your journal one day a week, balance your checkbook, or take your car in for an oil change.

6. Build in contingencies. For instance, say you have an outdoor party planned for 20 people but a tropical storm hits the day of the party. Well, while you can’t control the weather, you can control where you hold it (move it inside), when you hold it (postpone it), and how it’s held (if you were planning a cookout, whip up a couple of big lasagnas).

7. Make a list. Nothing puts more control back into your hands than taking all the “to dos” swirling through your head and writing them down. Now make a plan for how you will accomplish each one. For instance, if one of the things on your list is Christmas shopping, set a date, a time, and a time limit to go shopping. If one of the things on your list is to clean the house, break it into manageable parts. So on Monday you clean the kitchen, on Tuesday the bathrooms, and so on.

8. Build up tolerance to chaos by giving yourself small out-of-control experiences. For instance, if you typically are the lead driver of the family car, have your spouse take the wheel next time you all go out together, suggests Larina Kase, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania. Ask someone to interrupt you periodically, have your partner make the weekend plans without your input, turn over the bill paying to your partner. These will help you learn to accept being out of control.

9. Practice positive self-talk. It would be great if someone else did this for you, but often you have to do it for yourself, says Dr. Farrell. Self-talk means saying things like, “I’m going to be okay,” “I’ll get through this,” or “Right now, I have to give myself a few minutes and then I can begin coming up with a plan to handle this.”

10. Take time to de-stress before addressing the maelstrom. Put your feet up, do some relaxation breathing, have a cup of tea. Calming yourself down is one area in which you do have control, notes Dr. Farrell.

11. Create a perception that you have control. There is a good deal of research showing that the perception of control is more important than actual control, says Dr. Kase. For instance, people are able to tolerate a hot room if they know they have the option of turning down the heat. Come up with some little things that you can do to make out-of-control situations more manageable.

12. Iron something. Ironing is a relatively mindless activity that still provides very visible results. The sense of control you gain as you turn a crumpled ball of fabric into a crisp garment will carry over into other areas of your life, promise!

13. Focus on what you’re doing, not the outcome. You can often control the specific task or motion, but you can’t always control the outcome. Just consider baseball slugger Mark McGwire, says Michael Crabtree, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania. “He was just a .200 hitter with the Oakland A’s because he was focused on his low batting average and hitting home runs — not on just swinging the bat. When he started focusing on that, it changed his whole approach and he became a much better hitter,” Dr. Crabtree says.

From: Stealth Health

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