Birch study

Every month we dedicate an hour or so to studying one herb in detail. Last week the group decided to think outside the box a little and study one of the trees we are lucky to have in the kirkyard, the chosen tree was Birch.

We looked up the medicinal properties of birch in a our books, and the history of its use, particularly of interest was energising drinks made from its sap and its history of use in Corporal Punishment - birch branches being a favourite for whipping criminals with. Friend of Greyfriars Kirkyard volunteer Les came over and gave us an interesting run down of this.

We also drew the trees and leaves, made an antiseptic tea of its leaves and tried to tap a little of its sap, unfortunately due to it being so dry recently the tree didn't want to give up any sap for us so we will have to wait to try it another time.