Witnessed by: Western
Silver birch (Betula pendula), of the Betulaceae family. Graceful tree with silver-white peeling bark and pendulous twigs; native range: woods and heaths across Europe and northern Asia. Globally recognized as European white birch, weeping birch, lady of the woods in English. The part used is leaf; also bark and spring sap. Leaves faintly aromatic and bitter, mildly astringent.
In this cross-tradition database, we analyze how this substance operates across world medicine systems — tracking its traditional tastes, temperatures, tissue affinities, post-digestive effects, and planetary correspondences across Ayurveda, Unani, and Western herbalism.
SILVER BIRCH
IDENTITY
Name
- Common
- silver birch
- Scientific name
- Betula pendula Roth
- Family
- Betulaceae
Form
- Part used
- leaf; also bark and spring sap
PROPERTIES
Nature
Taste
how the plant declares itself on the tongue
- Western
- bitter · astringent
Temperature
- Western
- cool
Affinity
where in the body it travels
Organs / channels
- Western
- kidneys · joints · skin
PRACTICE
Virtue
Actions
- Western
- diuretic, anti-rheumatic, depurative, mild anti-inflammatory
Cautions
- Contraindications
- avoid where oedema arises from impaired heart or kidney function; birch-pollen allergy
- Toxicity
- leaf preparations well tolerated at customary dose
This is the card. Sign in for the full four-tradition entry — the aligned TCM · Ayurveda · Western · Unani reading, actions, dosing and cautions.