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 Parts used:
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The leaves, gathered in early
summer, when they are at their best.
-
A tar, which is the distilled
product of the fresh wood, known medicinally as creosote.
-
Charcoal made of the wood.
Constituents:
A fatty oil. Oxalic acid. A poisonous triterpene. Saponin" (The
Hamlyn Guide to Edible and Medicinal Plants of Britain and Northern Europe,
1989)
The creosote contains guajacol, cresol and cresoline.
Actions:
The leaves: Cooling and Astringent.
The creosote: Antiseptic and Stimulating.
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Hot swellings and skin
conditions:
-
A strong infusion of the
leaves is good to clean up and heal sores and wounds. Bath the affected
parts in this infusion several times a day.
-
The 17th century English
herbalist Nicolas Culpepper has the following advice: "The leaves of
the Beech tree are cooling and binding, and therefore good to be applied to
hot swellings to discuss them.... you may boil the leaves into a poultice,
or make an ointment of them when the time of year serves."
-
The water found in the hollow
places of decaying Beeches will cure both man and beast of any scurf, scab,
or running tetters, if they be washed therewith.
Skin infections:
The antiseptic properties of beechwood, which made Culpepper's natural Beech
infusion useful for skin conditions, was utilised by the pharmaceutical industry
in its extensive use of Beech creosote as a main active ingredient in medicinal
soaps and unctions for infections of the skin.
Chronic bronchitis:
Mrs. Grieve mentions that the antiseptic tar has been used internally
as a stimulating expectorant in chronic bronchitis.
Tonic:
A tea made from the powdered bark and leaves makes an excellent tonic. The
American naturopath Jethro Kloss recommends this mixture "once in a while
to clean and tone up the system". It will aid stomach troubles, ulcers,
liver, kidneys, bladder, diabetes and improve appetite.
Worms:
The ground charcoal of both El;m and Beech, when mixed with an oil of male
fern (Dryopteris filix-mas) was formerly prescribed to rid the intestines of
tapeworms and roundworms.
Homeopathic applications:
Boericke's "Homeopathic Materia Medica" lists beechnuts as
a remedy for "headache and salivation; swelling of mouth; dread of
water".
Homeopathic Beech creosote is used in doses from the third to thirtieth potency
(and the 200th in sensitive patients) for "Pulsations all over the body,
and profuse bleeding from small wounds. Very severe, old neuralgic affections;
pain rather aggravated by rest. Excoriating, burning, and offensive
discharges. Haemorrhages, ulcerations, cancerous affections. Rapid decomposition
of fluids and secretions, and burning pains. Overgrown, poorly developed
children. Post-climacteric diseases. Tumefaction, puffiness, gangrene. Ailings
of teething children.".
Bach Flower remedy:
Beech is one of the 39 Bach flower remedies. It is recommended as a remedy
for "those who are critical, dissatisfied, intolerant, irritable, always
finding fault, seeing only the negative side of things. Annoyed by small matters
- the oddities, mannerisms and idiosyncrasies of others; demand exactness, order
and discipline. Arrogant people who complain of others, petty anger, sound in judgment
but sour, cynical, unsympathetic, strict with others, tense. Tends to affect the
upper chest area, tension in jaws, arms and hands from clenching." (Julian
Barnard "A Guide to the Bach Flower Remedies)
Spiritual:
The spiritual lesson the Beech gives is, that no matter how single-minded,
expansionist, civilised, super-spiritual or downright only interested in the
procreation of our own kind we are, symbiotic life sustains us and we, in turn,
must give of our own substance to enrich the soil we all grow in. The soil is of
of the material equivalents of the soul, i.e. our realisation that we are all
connected, interdependent, inter-reacting on many subtle levels. If you realise
that 'soul' equals "us-all", you know that we are all One and that you
can never totally die, or fade away, stop existing.
A spirituality which is only directed to so called higher goals is un-ecological
and therefore dangerous. Similarly, the philosophy of non-attachment (as
popularly misunderstood by many earnest seekers for 'enlightenment', who would
like to reduce human suffering, is a dangerous fallacy.
Deep, thorough and loving
attachment is the foundation of a compassionate non-attachment, which has
matured into the ability to let people, animals and everything else find their
own course of development without our need to interfere any longer, because
we've already loved 'it' as we could when the need for nurturing, appreciation
and encouragement was there. The concept of a spirituality of non-attachment,
which regards the emotions of attachments as if they belonged to a lower-order
(and usually classed as a 'female characteristic', 'temptation' or 'the sins of
the flesh' is a theoretical fabrication, strived for by practitioners of
patriarchal religions and patriarchal sciences.
The Beech became a symbol of such a one-sided culture in which the
inter-relationship and importance of all parts has been forgotten in favour of
the supposedly higher goals of objectivity and non-attachment. Amazing feats
were attained, but at the cost of incredible destruction and carelessness.
Fantastic prosperity was accumulated by some, but at the cost of ruthless
exploitation of everything and everybody else.
Endless knowledge was gathered, yet little do we know how to be happy, how to
create beauty, how to be fulfilled, how to live in balance with our environment.
It seems fitting to turn to the Beech of all trees and ask it to remind us how
to balance the books.
Beech drops, a medicinal parasite
on American Beech:
Mrs. Grieve mentions an interesting American parasite on Beech tree roots.
Its medicinal reputation warrant attempts to try and grow it locally. I would be
interested to hear from anybody, who knows more about this:
"Beech drops (Crobanche virginiana, Epifagus virginiana, Broom rape, Cancer
root), a parasite on Beech tree roots, has a bitter, nauseous, astringent taste,
diminished by drying. It is given internally in bowel affections, and is reputed
to cure cancer, though this is doubtful. As a local application to wounds and
ulcers it will arrest gangrene. It appears to act upon the capillary system like
the tincture of muriate of iron." (Grieve)
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The graceful branches of the
Beech, either in bud or with leaves, are popular with flower arrangers.
The oil pressed from the Beechmast has been used for burning in lamps.
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There are many varieties of the
Common Beech, which are grown in parks, gardens and elsewhere for their
ornamental value. Some of the most popular one are:
-
Fagus sylvatica var.
Purpurea - Copper Beech
The many Copper Beeches we see these days have all originated from
Beeches found in the 18th century in Hanleiter Forest, near Sondershausen,
Germany. The leaves contain a purple colouring matter in the cell-sap of
their outer layers. Naturally occurring purple Beeches have also been found
in the Vogue Mountains.
-
Fagus sylvatica var.
Pendula - Weeping Beech
This is a very graceful tree found frequently in parks and gardens.
Cultivated forms include trees with a wide-spreading open crown, as well
trees with tall, narrow crowns. The branches rise at first, but take on a
hanging, downwards growing habit as they become thinner.
-
Fagus sylvatica var.
heterophylla - Fern-leaf or Cut-leaf Beech
This name covers several varieties of narrow leaved Beech with varying
patterns of lobes around the edges of the leaves. Sometimes entire leaves
can be seen growing on the same tree, when branches have been damaged in the
past.
-
Fagus sylvatica var. Dawyck
(Fastigiata) - Dawyck Beech
A tree with a narrow, cone-shaped crown (like Lombardy Poplar). It can
be found in formal gardens or avenues and is also planted along roads.
-
Fagus grandifolia -
American Beech
This natoive American tree grows in the Eastern half of the USA from New
Brunswick to Florida and Texas. Its leaves are larger than that of Fagus
sylvatica with more pairs of veins and more prominent teeth on the leaf
margins. It has been introduced to Britain, but does not seem to thrive
here.
-
Fagus orientalis - Oriental
Beech
A native of Western Asia and South East Europe. It is another lovely
tree, whose leaves are slightly larger than those of our Common Beech and
the stems of the fruit are also slightly longer. A prominent identifying
feature is the fact that the leaves are at their widest just beyond the
midpoint.
Closely related to our Northern
Hemisphere Common Beech are a genus called 'Nothofagus' or 'Southern Beeches'.
They contain about twenty different species, most of which are evergreen,
although the three most likely to be encountered in Britain (Raoul, Roble and
Antarctic) are deciduous. These trees have been cultivated here mainly for the
fact that they are extremely vigourous trees and consequently produce
fast-growing timber.
-
Nothofagus obliqua - Roble
Beech
The Roble Beech is a native of Chile.
The leaves are up to 8 cm long with a blunt tip and lobulate toothed
margins. They tend to have a slightly uneven base. . The leaf stems and part
of the middle veins are pinkish to dark red. The bark is smooth and pale at
first, but soon becomes cracked and flaky. In older trees it has grey,
squarish, curling plates. The tree can grow as much as 1½ metres in each
season.
-
Nothofagus procera - Raoul Beech
Also a native of Chile and even faster
growing than the Roble. The crown of Raoul is more conical than round in its
shape. The leaves are up to 10 cm long with 15-18 pairs of veins. The leaf
has quite prominent ridges between the veins. The grey bark is smooth when
young and cracks with age to give horizontal stripes and dark fissures
running up the trunk, which tend to be evenly spread.
-
Nothofagus antartica -
Antartic Beech
Inspite of its name, this tree is not as
hardy as the two above. The leaves are small (up to 3 cm), vaguely
heart-shaped with indented veins and irregular teeth.
The following species come from New
Zealand, Australia and Tasmania and are sometimes imported as valuable timber
trees:
-
Nothofagus solandri Var.
Cliffortiodes - Mountain Beech
This is a small tree and a native of New
Zealand. The leaves are triangular, evergreen and only 1 cm long.
-
Nothofagus truncata - Hard or
Clinker Beech
A native of New Zealand.
-
Nothofagus fusca - Red Beech
or Tawhai
A native of New Zealand.
-
Nothofagus cunninghami -
Myrtle tree
A native of Australia and Tasmania.
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