Abstract
The aim of this work is to evaluate the ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological use of Betula pendula
Roth in various regions of Transylvania, in East and Central Romania.
Silver birch is an important pioneer species in the country, which has
traditionally been used in ethnomedicine, households and various
customs. Among the ethnic groups, 55 informants from the Csángós and 68
from the Székelys were interviewed in six villages during field studies
occurring between 2007 and 2012. Informants were asked questions about
the medical and non-medical applications of B. pendula,
focusing on the use of the leaf and woody parts in tools and customs,
and on the collection and use of birch sap with its temporal change in
local ethnomedicinal knowledge. Differences related to the use of birch
among the studied areas were observed. The folk remedies prepared from
the sap (“virics”) and leaves were documented in local customs, with
similar symbolic roles assigned to birch used in other countries. Sap
collection was performed during interviews and by manual means. Four
special section types on the trunk were presented, and data concerning
the nutritional and ethnomedicinal use of the sap was recorded. Both the
significance and use of birch sap have drastically decreased in
Transylvania due to the appearance of new phytotherapeutical sources and
to social changes caused by migration of young people. We found that
this phenomenon is gradually leading to the disappearance traditional
harvesting techniques, frequency of use and ethnomedicinal knowledge
concerning B. pendula in the studied regions.
Keywords
silver birch; ethnobotany; medicinal plant; traditional knowledge; birch sap; virics
