I'm selling over 300 + kinds of seeds ( and also live plants during the warmer months ) so check my other auctions .
Please note : Seeds do not have tracking . They are shipped in non-machinable letters with stamps so they do not get crushed and to save you money on shipping a package . Shipping in the US can take from 1 to 2 weeks and overseas shipping to some countries can take up to 1 to 2 months so please be patient .
You are bidding on about 30 GRAY BIRCH SEEDS - Betula populifolia .
Also spelled Grey Birch, also called Oldfield Birch, Wire Birch, or Poplar-leaved Birch
Description: This is a small tree up to 30' tall, forming either a single or multiple trunks (usually the latter) up to 1' across. There is a narrow crown around each trunk. Trunk bark is white to light gray with horizontal fissures; it does not peel away. There are also flattened arrowhead markings that are black from detached branches. Branch bark is black to gray, while twigs are reddish brown with white lenticels.
Cultivation: The preference is full sun, moist to dry-mesic conditions, and sandy soil. This tree develops rapidly, but it is short-lived and prone to storm damage.
Hardiness Zones: Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6
Light Exposure: Full sun (6 hrs direct light daily) Partial sun (4-6 hrs direct light daily)
Medicinal use of Grey Birch:
The bark is astringent. a decoction has been used to treat bleeding piles. Scrapings of the inner bark have been used to treat swellings in infected cuts.
Edible parts of Grey Birch:
Inner bark - cooked or dried and ground into a meal. The meal can be used as a thickener in soups etc, or be added to flour when making bread, biscuits etc. 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 - sweet. Harvested in early spring, before the leaves unfurl, by tapping the trunk. The flow is best on warm days that follow frosty nights. The sap is drunk as a sweet beverage or it can be fermented to make birch beer or vinegar.
Other uses :
A pioneer species, readily invading old fields, burnt-over or cleared land and providing suitable conditions for other woodland trees to become established. It is an excellent crop for very poor soils, where it grows rapidly and affords protection to the seedlings of more valuable and slower-growing trees. Since this species is short-lived and not very shade tolerant, it is eventually out-competed by these other trees. Wood - close-grained, soft, light, weak, not durable. It weighs 36 lb per cubic foot. Unimportant commercially, the wood is used locally for making clothes pegs, spools, pulp, charcoal and quite commonly as a fuel.