Black birch

Aching, feverish rheumatic pain that responds to gentle diaphoresis and warmth

Loose, watery stools in children accompanied by nausea and a hot, restless surface

Overview. Betula lenta is a medium to large forest tree of the eastern and middle United States, valued historically both for its dense, dark, richly grained timber and for its aromatic bark, which yields a wintergreen-like oil rich in methyl salicylate. The bark, twigs and leaves were used by Eclectic and physiomedical practitioners as a gentle diaphoretic and digestive remedy, while the distilled essential oil became an important topical analgesic for muscular and rheumatic complaints. Today the tree is chiefly known as one of the two principal natural sources of oil of wintergreen, the other being Gaultheria procumbens.

Clinical Notes. The warm infusion of the bark was traditionally given for feverish colds and for the bowel complaints of children, where it was said to promote a gentle sweat, settle nausea, and leave a mild astringent tone to the gut without the harshness of stronger astringents.

Properties and Uses. The bark is a mild nervine relaxant and stimulant; promoting gentle action on the skin, if given in warm infusion; leaving behind a slightly tonic and astringent impression on the stomach and bowels. It is most serviceable in diarrhea, cholera infantum, and similar complaints of the bowels-in which it promotes perspiration, quiets the stomach, and relieves nausea, and promotes just that mild tonicity which is allowable in such cases.

Action, Medical Uses, and Dosage. Wintergreen possesses stimulant, aromatic, and astringent properties. It is used in infusion as an astringent in chronic mucous discharges, as a diuretic in dysuria, as an emmenagogue, as a stimulant in cases of debility, and is said to augment the flow from the lactiferous vessels of nursing women, but this is doubtful.