Tag: birch

Birch Polypore

Young Birch Polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) has been used medicinally for over 5000 years as antiparasitic, antimicrobial, to treat wounds, stomach diseases and in rectal cancer. Tests prove has anticancer effect… Read More

4000 year old “aspirin” flowers found in Bronze Age grave, Forteviot, Perthshire?

Meadowsweet flowers found in a Bronze Age grave were reported as proof of a “floral tribute”. Monica Wilde suggests the reason was not sentimental but practical – the person buried may have suffered from joint aches and pains – possibly arthritis. Meadowsweet and birch bark contain salicylates on which modern aspirin was modelled. Both plants are still used in British herbal medicine to this day.