Family psychology 

Why are birches white? Magic birch For this you need black stripes on the birch

    White trunked trees,

    Black and white bark.

    Yes, only birch has two barks. White and black speckled. The birch tree is considered a symbol of Russia. Black bark is the lungs of the tree. The birch tree breathes through these specks.

    If you try to answer figuratively, then you can compare black stripes with light trees. If you look for a more scientific explanation, you can find confirmation that this is not just a bizarre and undoubtedly beautiful pattern on the birch table in the form of black stripes, but also lentils (another name for the black stripes on the birch trunk) a device through which oxygen enters. With each year and the growth of the tree, lentils appear more clearly and their number increases.

    so that in winter they don’t confuse it with a snowdrift, for example, partridges and get killed. or the same hunter on skis, all happy and joyful, hearing how I’m going. and the hell is there. maybe the skis don’t work... or else it’s with stripes and everyone’s fine, everyone’s happy)

    It’s unlikely that this is for something specific, it’s just that everything in nature is beautiful, and such a beautiful tree as birch is sung by poets and lyricists because it is part of Russian culture, its patterns are just a decoration that gives aesthetic pleasure.

    Very good question! How nice it is to look at the birch tree, the symbol of Russia! The white trunk with transverse black lines is pleasing to the eye. But this is not just a decoration, these are devices through which the tree trunk breathes. It’s just that in leaves the process of gas exchange and removal of excess moisture passes through the stomata. But the tree bark has already overgrown these devices, so they use lentil dashes. It’s just that the birch tree itself has a white trunk due to betulin, which is why the lentils stand out so clearly.

    Black stripes on birch plants are really necessary. And even vitally necessary for such trees. Without them they simply could not exist.

    The whole point is that oxygen flows through the black stripes. This is how the birch tree breathes. Therefore, for a normal life, birch trees appear such stripes on the bark.

    In addition, a birch without black marks would lose its uniqueness and individuality. Although this was originally intended by nature, this gives the trees a special beauty. Whether this tree can be called the most beautiful or not is everyone’s business. But it seems to me that birches are very good trees. And the stripes don't spoil them.

    The black stripes on birch have their own name; they are called lentils. With the help of these lentils the tree breathes, thanks to them additional gas exchange occurs. By the way, they are more loose compared to white bark.

    The birch bark, like human skin, has its own pores through which the birch breathes in the most literal sense of the word. Let's take a look at human skin.

    As you can see in the picture, the skin has pores arranged in small triangles through which the skin breathes.

    Now let's look at the birch bark.

    Birch bark also has pores similar to human ones, only the nature of their shape is slightly different.

    It is noteworthy that birch bark was previously actively used in medicine:

    White bark, one might say, is the old (non-living) bark of a tree. Lentils burst through it, allowing the tree to breathe.

    Birch bark is a very dense material that protects the tree from weather conditions (heat, cold, rain, etc.), that is, it performs protective functions for the tree, like skin for humans. The tree also breathes through the bark, thanks to dark horizontal stripes called lentils. Lentils have a looser tissue than the bark itself, allowing air to pass through. Thanks to them, the tree breathes.

    I asked myself a similar question many times and only recently found out why, or rather, why these very black stripes/stripes are needed on birch trees.

    The white part of the birch trunk, which occupies a much larger part/area, does not have water or oxygen, which the tree needs for growth and for breathing.

    And these black stripes, dashes, which are called lentils, in contrast to birch bark, allow oxygen to pass through, which is necessary for the tree.

    We can say that these are the pores through which the birch tree breathes.

Bath massage helps to get rid of many ailments associated with the respiratory tract, cardiovascular and integumentary systems. The ancient Russians knew about these miraculous properties, who passed on from generation to generation the knowledge of how to dry birch bathhouse brooms. The procedure is quite simple and accessible to everyone.

Why is the birch tree a symbol of Russia?

Tyutchev, Yesenin and Rubtsov dedicated heartfelt lines to this tree. This is what emigrants remember when they think about their Motherland. White-trunked is a symbol of our country, although this fact is not officially recognized (like, for example, sakura in Japan). The reasons for worship are as follows:

  • Birch is a typical inhabitant of the Golden Ring, the cradle of the Russian state. Despite the fact that over hundreds of years Russia conquered Siberia and the borders of Central Asia, cedar and saxaul could not change the traditional idea of ​​Russian nature;
  • Bright and memorable appearance. The white trunk, dotted with black dashed stripes, makes the tree unlike anything else and stands out among other species;
  • The plant was a symbol of the pagan Slavic deity Beregini, who protected from illnesses, evil spirits and ensured fertility;
  • Slavic tribes used the bark of this tree as a writing medium (birch bark);
  • Before the Westernization of Russia by Peter the Great The symbol of the beginning of the new year was not spruce, but birch. Its flowering symbolized the awakening of nature from winter oblivion.

Technology for drying twigs with leaves

The plant would never have occupied an important place in the soul of the people if bath brooms had not been made from its branches. For many generations of residents of our country, it was impossible to imagine the washing process without these devices.

When drying branches, the following points must be taken into account:

  • Do not allow active air exchange in the storage room. Otherwise, the unique aroma of birch leaves will go away forever;
  • No foreign odors. Freshly painted walls can ruin a dozen brooms;
  • Temperature conditions range from 8 to 27 degrees;
  • It is necessary to avoid exposing the workpieces to direct sunlight and exposure to high humidity;
  • The optimal place for drying is a non-residential space in the house (attic, storage room, garage);
  • The duration of the procedure is about 14 days;
  • Ready-made dry brooms are hung (not folded!) from the ceiling and left to be stored until X hour, until the time comes to use them in practice.

Why are black stripes needed on a birch trunk?

One of the most striking features of the national Russian tree is the stripes that dot its trunk from top to bottom. These formations not only have an aesthetic function, but also play an important role in the life support of the plant. Oxygen flows through them, necessary for the tree to breathe.

Are formed lentils- this is the name given to the black strokes on the trunk - as follows:

  1. The skin of a young plant has special micro-holes, or stomata. They are formed between a pair of cells and have a slit-like shape;
  2. As soon as the plant begins to prepare for the winter cold, the stomata begin to rise outward due to the fact that the underlying tissues increase in size;
  3. A tubercle of porous material is formed on the surface of the trunk, which allows air to pass through perfectly;
  4. A crack may form at the site of the stomata, which further increases gas exchange;
  5. The outer primary integumentary tissue begins to die and a plug forms;

Principles of broom massage

But let's get back to the brooms. So, they are already ready and can’t wait for the owner to put them into action. But here’s the problem: the presence of hot water and sewerage in every apartment has spoiled city dwellers.

Few people now know how to handle bundles of branches in a bathhouse. But there is nothing complicated about it:

  • Dip the broom into a vat of warm water several times. Then pour a couple of ladles of hot water into it and wait until the twigs with leaves soften;
  • It is not recommended to immediately apply hot water treatment: the foliage may fall off;
  • You should use a broom only after the second entry into the steam room, when the body is properly warmed up;
  • Wave the bundle several times over the lying person so that the hot air envelops him from head to toe;
  • Sliding brooms over the entire body without coming off;
  • Then comes a series of small, barely noticeable blows to stimulate blood circulation;
  • If the temperature in the steam room is very high, you can periodically dip the bundle in cold water to make the sensation more comfortable.

Birch suvel: what is it? (photo)

Wood used by humans in economic activities is not always in ideal condition. Various deficiencies in the physical characteristics of wood material are called defects. In deciduous trees there is often the so-called suvel- a defect in the structure of the fibers, in which a smooth growth is formed on the trunk.

The reasons for the formation of suvel are not fully known to science. Scientists make the following assumptions:

  • Impact of weather and climatic conditions;
  • Mechanical damage to wood;
  • Fungal infection of wood;
  • Sometimes it is possible to artificially create a growth by wrapping the trunk with wire.

The texture of the growth can vary: from marbled to red-brown. In most cases, dark shades are observed.

Despite the fact that in logging, Suvel is recognized as a wood defect, folk craftsmen highly value this anomalous formation. The blanks are used to make souvenirs, women's jewelry, mugs, and even serve as a canvas for carving.

How does birch reproduce?

The tree is an extremely tenacious species and is prone to reproducing its own kind even after a forest fire. Among the methods of reproduction are:

  1. Seeds. Occurs provided there is open space. When female flowers are pollinated by male flowers, seeds are formed that fall to the ground in the autumn-winter period. Having survived the cold, they successfully germinate in the spring;
  2. Overgrowth. If the tree is not looked after in any way for several years, then young shoots will appear near its base. They are formed from buds “sleeping” on the root system of the plant;
  3. Cuttings. To do this, in spring or summer, shoots are cut from birch trees that are more than two years old and an incision is made at the end of the seedling (so it can better absorb moisture). Planting is done only after roots have formed. Bury the cuttings in an open and well-lit area 2-3 centimeters into the soil.

The seed propagation method is also used for decorative purposes. After the catkins have acquired a brown color, they are collected and planted six months later, in the spring.

There is a number of knowledge worthy of being included in the Red Book: how to weave bast shoes, embroider on a hoop, how to dry birch bathhouse brooms. Until the achievements of civilization completely destroy the tradition of washing in a bathhouse, we list the main stages of the process: we prepare branches, dry them and hang them from the ceiling.

Video instruction: how to properly dry a birch broom

In this video, Viktor Medvedev will tell you in detail about the process of preparing brooms for a bath:

Target: nurturing love for nature, native land, Motherland.

Tasks:

  • develop a caring attitude towards nature;
  • continue work on the moral education of students;
  • teach to see beauty;
  • create opportunities for the creative development of students.

PROGRESS OF THE EVENT

Teacher. Many countries of the world have their own plants - symbols: Lebanon has the Lebanese cedar, Canada has the maple, Japan has sakura, India has the lotus.
And in our forests there are many trees revered by the people, for example, rowan. She has long been held in high esteem in Rus'; people composed songs about the forest beauty and endowed her with magical powers. The fisherman took a rowan stick with him - it would not be afraid of a storm. It was believed that rowan could resist the evil machinations of sorcerers and witches, so a necklace made of rowan was put on a newborn child, its leaves were placed in the shoes of the newlyweds. Peasants used a branch of rowan to lightly hit the cows so that they would have milk. Rowan fruits and flowers are widely used in medicine.

1st presenter. Another tree is aspen. “The Cinderella of the Russian forest”, “talkative mistress”, “sworn tree”, “trembling” is popularly called this slender tree with greenish-gray bark and a sparse crown, painted in red, red lead and lemon yellow in the autumn.
According to one of the legends, there was once a dispute between the trees about who brings more benefit to people. And pine, and larch, and ash, and cedar, and birch vied with each other about their merits, and only the aspen had nothing to say, but then time itself dispelled the myths about the uselessness of aspen. For centuries, its buds and leaves have been used by traditional healers.

Reader.

Tree dispute

There was a dispute once started
In the forest among the trees.
He was talking about the benefits for people -
One belief says.
Everyone knew about their meeting:
Shrubs, blades of grass.
Appeared to them in all their glory
Birch, Cedar, Aspen,
Mighty Oak. Vying with each other
They stood in front of each other
Boast about benefits and yourself,
For people to choose.
The oak says: “I am the king among you!
The acorn will give them vitamins,
The bark will benefit them.”
Kedr remarked: “I will give in
In fragile material.
But I give the oil in the cones.
People found out about him!”
“And I’ll give you life-giving juice. –
Birch answered, -
There is also a healing infusion
On broncs - on earrings.”
“Why are you silent, Aspen?”
“Shall we put an end to the dispute?”
"Look how out of fear
Its leaves are trembling! –
The trees spoke after.
Aspen decided
That there is no benefit to people...
“And it served her right.”
Centuries go by, years pass...
Aspen is useful to us:
Infusion on the kidneys for us always
Needed in sick matters,
No one can get by
Without aspen matches,
If you are superstitious, rely
On a stake in the fight against a vampire.
Such is her enormous contribution -
Osinka wiped her nose!
Everyone knows about this:
Shrub and reed.

Olesya Petrovicheva, 10th grade.

Teacher. Willow, willow, spruce, pine, bird cherry, viburnum...
Each of these trees has its own meaning in oral folk art, in poetry and painting, but most of all, the life and fate of a Russian person is connected with the beauty about whom these riddles are:
Alyonka is standing with a green scarf,
Slim figure, white sundress.
She welcomes spring and puts on earrings.
A green scarf is draped over the back.
And the dress is striped:
You will find out... (birch)?

– So, today we will talk about birch. ( Appendix 1 . Slide 1).
It is known that no country has such an abundance of birch trees as we have in Russia.
The white-trunked tender birch tree has long symbolized Russian nature, Russia.

2nd presenter. Birches reach a height of 10 - 25 (maximum 45) m, trunk diameter 25-120 (maximum up to 150) cm.
The crown is most often ovoid in shape. Birch bark - birch bark in many species is white. This is the only breed in the world with snow-white bark. ( Appendix 1 . Slides 2-7) The lifespan of a birch is from 40 to 120 years. Flowering from 8-15 years, in plantings - from 20-30 years, abundant and almost annual.
Birch is light-loving, grows successfully in various climatic conditions, is frost-resistant, tolerates permafrost, drought-resistant, has little demand for soil fertility and moisture, therefore it is found on rocky and poor sandy soils, and on peat bogs. The birch goes far to the north and south, and rises high into the mountains. It is one of the first to settle in pine-spruce clearings. In the spring, the birch tree is one of the first to awaken in the forest: there is still snow, and there are already thawed patches near it, orange catkins are swollen on the tree... And in the fall, the birch tree is among the first to rush to put on a beautiful golden headdress...
Birch is widely used in many sectors of the national economy. It is used to make parquet, plywood, household utensils and other products. Birch is resistant to gas and dust. It is of great importance for air purification, therefore it is successfully used in landscaping and in the creation of recreational areas. Birch is the favorite tree of all Russian people. Slender, curly, with white hair, she was always compared in Rus' to a gentle and beautiful bride-girl. Poets and artists dedicated their best works to her. Birch is in songs, riddles, and fairy tales. She is dear to the Russian heart.( Appendix 1 . Slide 8)

Reader.

I love Russian birch
Sometimes bright, sometimes sad,
In a bleached sundress,
With handkerchiefs in pockets,
With beautiful clasps
With green earrings.
I love how elegant she is
Dear, beloved,
Then clear, ebullient,
Then sad, crying.
I love Russian birch.
She's always with her friends
Bends low in the wind
And it bends, but does not break!
"Birch" by A. Prokofiev

2nd reader.

White birch
Below my window
Covered with snow
Exactly silver.
On fluffy branches
Snow border
The brushes have blossomed
White fringe.
And the birch tree stands
In sleepy silence,
And the snowflakes are burning
In golden fire.
And the dawn is lazy
Walking around
Sprinkles branches
New silver.
S. Yesenin.

The Birch dance is performed by a group of girls.

Teacher. Lovers met near the birches and sang suffering. ( Appendix 1 . Slide 9)

Oh you, white birch,
There is no wind, and you are making noise.
My heart is zealous
There is no grief, but you are in pain.
I loved and love
Your eyes are blue
I'm still under the pigeon.
Come to me, little bastard,
I'll show you the path
On curly birch trees
I'll tie it with a ribbon.

1st presenter. That's how many poems and songs. And there are also riddles:

1. Which tree has two barks instead of one? (On a birch tree) It’s white and thin on top, and black and clumsy underneath.
Question? Why do we need white stripes on black bark? (The tree needs black stripes on the white bark so that the tree can breathe through them)

2. What is the name of birch bark? (Birch bark)
Question? Why birch bark is so loved by scientists and historians. (In ancient times, when parchment was expensive, they wrote on birch bark. Birch bark letters have reached us, after reading which, learned historians were able to learn a lot about the life of our ancestors.)

3. There is a curly tree, there are 5 areas on this tree.

1st area - ill health,
2nd area - a broken fortress,
3rd area - the sea is worn out,
4th area - a threat to the small one,
5th site – night light. (Broom, birch bark, broken dishes tied together with birch bark, whip, splinter)

Teacher. Artists have depicted Russian birch in their paintings.( Appendix 1 . Slide 10)
Question? Who can name these artists? (Plastov, Levitan, Kuindzhi and Savrasov).

1st presenter. Writer V.M. Garshin looking at the painting by A.K. Savrasov “The rooks have arrived”( Appendix 1 . Slide 11) said: “I would call this picture “Feeling of the Motherland.” And indeed, when you look at this canvas, you experience a painfully piercing feeling of unity with your Fatherland. And the spring ringing drops, and the haze, and thin birch trees - all this is so familiar and so dear. And this amazing picture gives birth to love for Russia, the Motherland.

Reader.

You are so beautiful, little birch!
And at noon it’s hot, and in the hours of dew,
That Russia is unthinkable without you.
And I can’t imagine without your beauty.

2nd presenter. In front of the painting “Birch Grove” by A.I. Kuindzhi ( Appendix 1 . Slide 12) you experience special joy. This is what happens when you enter a birch grove on a summer day and feel the beauty of your homeland. Around there are green-haired, quiet and silent birch trees, filled with its juices.

Reader.

My Rus'! I love your birches!
Since those years I grew up and lived with them,
That's why tears come
On eyes weaned from tears.

1st presenter. Before us is a picture by I.I. Levitan "Birch Grove". ( Appendix 1 . Slide 13)
White-trunked birches covered with young bright green foliage, a thick carpet of emerald grass, and the sun's rays cannot leave anyone indifferent. The painting captivates with its freshness and play of colors, the thrill of life itself. I just want to read the lines:

Reader.

But a clearing, on a hill
Under the window, among the fields
White-winged birches are a symbol
My homeland.

You are so sweet to me
Until any dewdrop,
In your spaces
Silence slumbers
Berezovaya, Russian Russia
Chamomile, kind country.

2nd presenter. We often talk about birch: slender, tall, curly. But for this tree to become such, it takes more than a dozen years. A little sprout needs to put in a lot of strength and perseverance to withstand all the hardships: winter cold and summer heat, heavy rains and prolonged drought.

Have you seen how birches are born?
Just like herbs:
stem and leaf.
In broad daylight
or at the pink dawn,
the awakened east will blaze a little, -
look -
rose from the diapers
and, like a flimsy blade of grass, it stands
Russian birch little child
and not at all birch in appearance.
Not everyone will notice this baby,
into two or three barely opened leaves.
She has had bad times more than once since childhood:
then - bad weather,
then the earth is hard,
then - to block the sun
grass strives...
Oh, how much you have to experience and endure in life,
to be slim and curly
and become a white birch tree!

1st presenter. But your heart aches more when you see a crippled tree. After all, it is alive!

Reader.

In the spring heat the boy is angry
Pierced the birch bark with a knife -
And drops of juice, like tears, -
Flowed in a transparent stream.
The shepherd cut the bark of a birch tree,
Leaning over, he sips the sweetish juice.
Drop after drop drips into the sand
Birch blood, transparent as tears.
And now she, growing cold from the torment, will wither by next spring.
The trunk will dry up and the branches will go numb,
And the roots in the depths will die.

Teacher. From time immemorial, Rus', Russia, has been a peasant country, where labor and need, grief and joy were combined... The birch is truly a peasant tree. It resembles a calico scarf, a whitewashed hut, a Russian stove, a linen shirt, a rug. The thick trunks of birch trees resemble calloused peasant hands that do any hard work. And young, thin, straight birches look like slender, flexible-waisted, light-haired Russian girls with light brown braids.
How does a peasant communicate with birch trees?

Stills from the film “Kalina Krasnaya”(Appendix 2 , Appendix 3 )

2nd presenter. What Russian person doesn’t love the beautiful birch tree? She promises the weary the desired rest, and gives shade to the thirsty for coolness.
What does birch mean to our school workers? Let's listen to their statements. (Extracts from interviews taken by students from teachers and other school staff about birch are read out.)

1st presenter. Palm trees, baobabs, coffee trees... these names are associated with distant countries. But it is impossible to imagine our Motherland without the birch tree, the white-trunked beauty. ( Appendix 1 . Slide 14)

Reader.

I can’t imagine Russia without birch, -
She is so bright in Slavic,
That perhaps in other centuries
From the birch tree - all of Rus' was born.

Oleg Shestinsky

Teacher. Wherever a birch tree grows, everywhere it brings joy and light.( Appendix 1 . Slide 15) Birch is a symbol of Russia, our Motherland. And it will be in our open spaces forever, because our people are eternal, our Russian land is eternal!

Reader.

Again about them, curly and whitish...
What to do here if in Rus'
There are birches along all the roads,
At least a day, at least a year, at least an eternity of the wheel!

Teacher. We can talk about the white birch for a long time: this topic is inexhaustible. Hundreds of years will pass, but the birch will not lose its significance:
As in the old days, it will symbolize our immortal, glorious and powerful Motherland, whose name is RUSSIA.
Let's end our meeting with a poem by Vsevolod Rozhdestvensky and listen to his “Birch” ( Appendix 1 . Slides 16-19)

Reader.

The sun warmed the slopes a little
And it became warmer in the forest.
Birch green braids
Hung from thin branches,
All dressed in a white dress
In earrings, in lace foliage,
Welcomes the hot summer
She is at the edge of the forest.
Her light outfit is wonderful
There is no tree dearer to my heart,
And so many thoughtful songs
People are singing about her!
He shares her joy and tears,
And she's so good
What seems - in the noise of a birch
Our soul is Russian.

V. Rozhdestvensky

The phonogram performed by the group “LUBE” and Sergei Bezrukov “Birches” is turned on.

Literature:

1. Barinova I. I. Geography of Russia. Nature, 8kl: Textbook for general education institutions. – M: Bustard, 1997, p. 110.
2. Sitdikova F. Birch is a symbol of Russia. Scenario of spring - summer holiday. G. Education of schoolchildren. No. 4, 2004.

Birch is one of the main images of folk art. In songs, fairy tales, and legends, birch is a symbol of spring and the Motherland. The favorite tree was endowed with the most affectionate epithets. She was called slender, curly, thin, white, fragrant, cheerful. There are countless sayings, proverbs, and riddles associated with birch:The birch tree is not a threat - where it stands, it makes noise. The birch bark is white, but the tar is black. Green, not a meadow, white, not snow, curly, not a head. In folk superstitions, the birch tree is closely associated with agriculture: A lot of sap flows from the birch tree - for a rainy summer. If the birch tree opens its leaves in front of the alder, the summer will be dry, if the alder is wet in advance.

Folk wisdom has long been able to appreciate the wonderful healing properties of birch. Already in the herbalists of the 16th century. You can find instructions on how to use birch leaves and buds, birch bark, called birch bark, and birch sap. Modern medicine has also recognized the wide healing capabilities of birch.

Of the 120 species of birch trees found on Earth, about 40 species grow in Russia. The most common is the warty birch (silver birch), reaching a height of 20 meters, the age of which does not exceed 120 years.

The outside of the birch tree is covered with a continuous sheath of bark. Birch bark consists of many thin, elastic, smooth, durable layers that are easily separated from each other, impermeable to moisture and air and practically resistant to rotting. Every year these layers grow, and the bark becomes thicker. By the number of thin layers, as well as by the annual rings of wood, the age of the tree can be determined. The outer layers of warty birch are usually white and differ only in shades of color. The inner layers facing the bast come in a variety of shades, from yellow to dark brown. It is these inner layers of birch bark, as the most durable and beautiful ones, that are used by craftsmen in the manufacture of products such as face. The outer, flaky layers are called wrong side, and they have no practical significance.

In addition to color, birch bark gives special attractiveness lentils - small narrow stripes of black or brown color. In summer they are open and gas exchange occurs through them; sometimes they are called vents. For the winter, the lentils close, filling with a special substance.

The best birch bark for all types of products is wide-layered, layered, smooth, thin with small lentils, warm and velvety to the touch, tensile, yellow, golden-yellow or yellow-green.

Thin birch bark occurs in birches aged from 20 to 40 years with a smooth, even trunk (diameter more than 150 - 200 mm), without painful thickenings, sagging, knots, cuts, pronounced crusts and mushrooms. Such birch is more often found on pine slopes, in mixed forests with moderate shade. The exception is the case when birch bark is needed for slotted thread. Then they look for young trees no older than 15-16 years old. Sometimes birch bark with a thickness of up to 2 mm or more is required for the manufacture of large products - tues, large boxes, etc.

Birch trees with thick bark often grow on the outskirts of fields and forest edges. Their birch bark has long, wide lenticels, smooth, strong, low-extensibility, yellow, sometimes reddish in color, or even multi-colored: yellow on the north side, reddish on the south. This is second-grade birch bark. It requires a lot of effort and time to process. Birch bark from birches growing in peaty, swampy places or separately in open spaces is fragile, low-stretch, with many small and large blackened lentils, thick, spotted, scabbed, with holes from insect passages, one-sided, with thickenings. It's better not to take this one.

The timing of birch bark harvesting may vary depending on the geographical zone, the place where birch grows, the time of onset and the nature of spring. Birch bark is usually firmly connected to bast. In late spring, when the snow melts during the sap period, you can remove birch bark in small quantities using a specially made wooden tool that resembles a chisel. At this time, a coating of dark brown splint layer is observed on the inner layer of birch bark. Such birch bark is often used in products with decorative elements by scraping out the splint layer.

In the Komi Republic, near the city of Syktyvkar, the most favorable periods for harvesting birch bark are observed from June 20 to July 10. During this period, birch sap can no longer be obtained. The tree leaf gains strength and turns dark green. In persistent hot weather, after cutting the birch bark on a tree trunk, it comes off without effort.

During this period, you need to visit the forest more often to determine the disappearance of birch bark. At the end of the harvesting period, the birch bark dries to the trunk and harvesting becomes practically impossible.

Lyshchenko Irina, 3rd grade student of the Volosovskaya Primary Secondary School

I chose this topic for my research because this issue is of interest not only to children, but to serious adults - professors and academicians. I became interested in finding out where the whitest birches grow, and how this tree differs from other trees. Starting to work on this topic, I put forward several hypotheses and suggested that the white birch is due to unusual substances in its bark, perhaps this is a protective property of the birch, and perhaps in this way the birch attracts insects during flowering.. .

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Preview:

The work was completed by a 3rd grade student

Lyshchenko Irina

“WHY IS BIRCH WHITE?”

Volosovo

2013

Introduction

Why this topic was chosen:

I chose this topic for my research because this issue is of interest not only to children, but also to serious adults - professors and academicians.

Purpose of the study:find out why the birch is still white?

Research objective:

- find in additional sources information about what types of

Birches;

Find out what is unusual about them;

Find out where the whitest birches grow and how they differ from others

Trees.

Hypothesis: white birch possible

To attract insects;

Due to unusual substances in the bark;

This is its protective property.

Materials used:

The following materials were used in the research: the Internet, children's encyclopedias, personal observations.

  1. Characteristics of birch.

Birch is a beautiful tree30-45 m high with thin, hanging branches and a white trunk.

Nature has not given white bark to any plant except birch. True, the bark remains smooth and white only on young trees. On old trunks it cracks heavily on the outside and becomes black and gray, especially in the lower part.

The crown is often weeping due to the fact that the branches are “dangling” (hence the name of the plant).Young branches are red-brown, with resinous warts, which is why this birch is called warty.

The buds are small, oily, and contain a lot of essential oils.

The leaves are round and toothed; fruits - nuts. The weight of 1000 fruits is only 0.1 g. The flowers are small, inconspicuous, collected in inflorescences - earrings.

In the conditions of Central Russia, birch blooms in early May and even at the end of April. At the same time, the birch tree blooms. The fruits ripen in July-August and immediately begin to fall.

The age limit of most birches does not exceed 100-120 years, although individual trees can reach 300 years.

The vitality of this “miracle tree” still surprises scientists. During the experiments, birch branches were placed in chambers where terrible frost reigned - minus 273 degrees Celsius. But when the branches were taken out of the chamber, they thawed and came to life.

  1. Birch distribution.

Many types of birch trees grow in temperate and cold zones of Eurasia and North America. However, birch does not tolerate extreme heat, which limits its distribution in the south.

There are about 120 species. They differ in height and bark color. There are also shrubs among the birches. The most famous of them, dwarf birch, grows in the tundra of Siberia. It reaches only 1 m in height.

Not all birch trees are white. The “Daurian” birch has dark bark; it grows in Transbaikalia. But “red” birches grow in the Kuril Islands and the Japanese Islands. They got their name because their wood is orange-red. There are also Schmidt birches that are not white at all. It is also called “iron” because the wood of this birch is stronger than cast iron.

The whitest birches grow in the mountains. “Paper birch” is in the mountains of America, “useful” is in the Himalayas, and “fluffy” is in the mountains of Scotland.

There are four types of birch growing on the territory of the Russian Federation: common white birch, warty birch and weeping birch; fluffy birch; shrub birch and dwarf.

  1. The structure of the woody layer of birch.

The woody layer of birch is bark. The bark is usually smooth, covered with a layer of cork fabric - birch bark. Most often white with black stripes, but there is yellowish or pinkish, very rarely even black.

Dark horizontal stripes are stretched over the white trunk. These are lentils. They peel off easily. Birch bark does not allow water or gases to pass through, and through the loose tissue of the lentils, oxygen necessary for the tree to breathe enters the trunk.

If you cut a birch trunk in early spring, clear, sweet-tasting sap will begin to ooze out drop by drop from the cut.

  1. Why are birch trees so white?

A) It’s a matter of the composition of the birch wood layer. If you remove a piece of bark from a tree, you will be left with something like a white powder on your fingers. This substance is called betulin - a white organic pigment and is released from the cells of the cortex.It contains a lot of silver ions, which have an antimicrobial effect. In the bark of the “ribbed” birch its content exceeds 5%, in the “layered” birch the content of betulin reaches 14%, and in the “Manzhurskaya” bark – up to 27%.

Of the species growing in Russia, the maximum content of betulin is observed in the bark of the downy birch - up to 44%

B) The fact is that in the mountains there is very hard ultraviolet radiation, and it was to reflect it that plants over millions of years “learned” to protect the trunk with a white mirror.

  1. Research result.

As a result of my research, the hypothesis that insects are attracted by the white color of birch bark was not confirmed. Insects are most attracted to the smell of young leaves and flowers.

The hypothesis about the presence of an unusual substance in birch bark was confirmed by research by scientists and personal observations. When you tear off a piece of birch bark, a white velvety coating remains on your fingers.

And the fact that birches can be very white, just white, and not white at all depends on the place where they grow. Russia has the best conditions for their growth, but in the north and in the mountains the conditions are difficult. This confirms the hypothesis about the protective properties of birch.

Conclusion:

The white color of birch bark is given by a resinous substance - betulin.