Birch
Betula species · Betulaceae
See also
- Birch Bark Oil
- Birch Bud Oil
- Birch Tar
- Birch Tar Oil, Rectified
Notes
Overview entry covering multiple birch-derived materials. Wood tar is different from bark tar and cannot replace it in perfumery. Birch wood tar is used in pharmaceutical preparations for dermatological value.
Full Arctander text
#### Birch.
A number of essential oils and other perfume raw materials are produced from various species of the birch tree:
- **Birch**** ****Bark**** ****Oil**** ****from**** ****the**** ****bark**** **of Betula Lenta, the so-called "**Southern**** ****Birch**" in Canada, Eastern and Midwestern United States. Occasionally the twigs are also distilled.
- **Birch**** ****Bud**** ****Oil**** **from the leaf-buds of Betula Alba in Germany, Finland and Denmark.
- **Birch**** ****Tar**** **by destructive distillation of the bark of **Betula**** ****Pubescens,**** ****Betula**** ****Pendula**** **and **Betula Alba **in Finland. The tar is rectified to yield **Birch Tar Oil, Rectified**. During the past few decades, increasing quantities of birch tar have been produced from birch wood, with or without adherent bark. The wood tar is entirely different from the bark tar, and cannot replace the latter in perfumery. Birch wood tar is used in pharmaceutical preparations for its dermatological value.
The various products from the Birch tree are described in the following monographs:
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