BIRCH
In a white dress
With handkerchiefs in pockets
With beautiful clasps
With green earrings.
(A. Prokofiev)
It is the birch that is considered the symbol of our country. Since ancient times, songs and poems have been composed about this tree:
There was a birch in the field
Curly stood in the field.
* * *
White birch under my window
Covered with snow, like silver,
On fluffy branches with a snowy border
Tassels of white fringe blossomed.
(S. Yesenin)
Birch is unpretentious, grows both on dry sands and on marshy soils. It can be found in the forest, and in the field, and in parks.
In early spring, when buds swell on the trees, flowers appear on the birch - inconspicuous catkins. In summer, they noticeably increase, turn brown. Each ripe earring contains several hundred small seeds. And on a whole adult tree in harvest years, they can ripen up to several million. The smallest fruitlets, similar to a very small butterfly with open wings, are blown over long distances by the wind and germinate next spring on suitable soils. That is why birch is one of the first to occupy free land.
The white bark of birch - birch bark - reflects the sun's rays and protects the tree from overheating. Since ancient times, birch bark has been used for the manufacture of household products. Raw materials were harvested in the spring. At this time, "birch bark sheds", that is, it is freely separated from the wood. The raw materials were dried in the shade and smoothed under pressure. Tueski, mugs, bread bins, boxes and other household items were made from birch bark. Bast shoes, baskets, trunks were woven from the inner part of the birch bark - bast.
When people did not yet know how to make paper, they wrote on birch bark. Birch bark letters, which are 700–800 years old, have survived to this day.
Birch is still beneficial today. Furniture is made from its wood. Birch buds have healing properties, they are used to make medicines.
MYSTERY
sticky buds,
green leaves,
With white bark
It stands above the mountain.
(Birch)
After blinding, the moment offers introspection. If safety conditions are guaranteed, the authorities may allow visitors to extinguish the flames from the lantern, plunging the cave into immense darkness. Almost complete silence accompanies her, only interrupted by drops of water that seem to sound like never before. This is the inner world, in the true sense of the word.
The return to the entrance is carried out along the same path, but even in this case we find more detailed information, other formations, new sensations. Delightful new world, which has been under our feet for centuries and centuries and has only now begun to be studied. Within the Land of Siko, another door has opened for one of the last frontiers of Man.
OAK
rain and wind oak
Not afraid at all.
Who said that oak
Scared to catch a cold?
After all, until late autumn
I stand green.
So I'm resilient
So it's hardened.
Oak is a powerful, majestic tree. The trunk is thick, covered with brown-gray bark with winding cracks. The older the tree, the deeper the cracks. Oak is considered the personification of heroic strength. In Greece, the oak branch was a symbol of strength, power and nobility. Oak was dedicated to the patron of the arts - the god Apollo. AT Ancient Rome acorns were considered divine fruits. The ancient Roman scientist Pliny the Elder wrote about oaks like this: “Untouched by centuries, of the same age as the universe, they amaze with their immortal fate, like the greatest miracle of the world.”
Oak was considered a sacred tree by the Slavs, it was dedicated to the god of lightning and thunder - Perun.
Oak - the king of all trees,
He has a big role.
(I. Goryunova) 
AT middle lane there are no trees larger than oaks. Oaks live 400–500 years. Single specimens reach an age of about one and a half thousand years. The oldest oak grows in Germany. Its age is about 1400 years.
Oak is a light-loving tree. Pay attention to the oak branches? They are repeatedly curved, as if twisted; old oaks have bizarre curves. The fact is that the branches are constantly stretching towards the sun, towards the light. So they change the direction of growth depending on the lighting.
Oak trees bloom in May. Fruits - acorns - ripen in autumn. Many forest inhabitants like to eat acorns: wild boars, deer, field mice, jays.
Oak has valuable wood: dense, hard, durable with a beautiful texture. It is used in shipbuilding, furniture, carpentry.
PUZZLES
I got out of the crumb-barrel,
Roots started up and grew,
I became tall and powerful
I'm not afraid of thunderstorms or clouds.
I feed pigs and squirrels -
Nothing that the fruit of my chalk.
(Oak)
* * *
Into this sleek box
Bronze color
Hidden little oak tree
Next summer.
(Acorn)
Oak is an ancient tree. This tree comes from the northern hemisphere; Ancestral samples have been found, as well as already weakened ones, as well as eternal ones. This genus is located not only in high latitudes, but also in tropical Asia and America. Usually the most decadent species are clustered in the north, while those with perennial foliage are located in the south. The oak produces fruits called acorns or lands.
A few other notable divisions are the Red Oak; Red oak-American; Oak-Japanese; Black oak; floodplain; Carvalho the Portuguese or Lusitana, among others. It is not always easy to catalog the various classes integrated by this tree, as they constantly form famous hybrids with each other.
CHESTNUT
The sun rose early
Looked into the house.
The chestnut trees have blossomed
Behind my window.
The bird sings
Close, close, somewhere
So it's coming
Golden summer.
(G. Boyko)
Horse chestnut is a majestic tree with a spreading, dense, uniform, highly arched crown. The trunk of mature trees is very strong, usually straight. This tree reaches a height of 25-30 meters.
Horse chestnut deservedly enjoys the fame of one of the most beautiful park trees. It is often planted in parks and gardens, near houses and cottages. In early spring, large sticky greenish-pink buds appear on the chestnut. A few days later, original large leaves appear from them, divided into 5–7 leaflets. 
In early May, the chestnut blossoms. His flowers are very beautiful - pyramidal panicles up to 30 centimeters high, consisting of large white flowers with yellowish or reddish drops of juice. Flowers, reminiscent of candles on a Christmas tree, give the tree a unique look. Chestnut fruits also look attractive: green, with numerous spikes, spherical boxes, each of which contains 1-3 shiny, dark brown seeds.
AT southern regions the noble chestnut grows. It is so different from the horse chestnut that scientists attribute them to different families. They are similar only in appearance, in both species they are shiny, brown, like polished nuts, enclosed in almost identical shells, only in the edible it is brown with spikes, and in horse chestnut- bright green with bumps. It is difficult to say exactly why the chestnut began to be called horse chestnut. There are two versions. According to one of them, after the leaf has fallen off, a scar remains at the place where the petiole is attached to the branch, resembling the trace of a horseshoe. According to the second, there is a gray spot on the dark brown surface of the fruit, similar to the print of a horse's hoof. Horse chestnut wood is used in furniture production for the manufacture of high-quality barrels. The extract prepared from the bark is used for tanning leather, dyeing cotton, wool and silk fabrics in dark brown and olive color. Baskets are woven from young branches.
Oaks usually become tools for botanists and geologists in their measurements of misfortunes caused by nature in environment. That is, in this tree they can find signs of the storms that hit the landscape in which it is located, because this specimen suffers most from heavy rains.
The oak is saturated with all the effects of thunderstorms, and thus they take on a disproportionate aspect, just like a creature that has made great efforts in its entire constitution. He even looks sad. For this reason, the oak is a constant source of reference for spiritualists, because with its role in nature it becomes a metaphor for resistance, resignation, submission to divine purposes, since with each oppression of natural forces it does not rebel, and does not discourage, but seeks to overcome the obstacles that haunt him persistently.
Quercus robur
Taxon: Beech family ( Fagaceae)
Other names: pedunculate oak, summer oak, english oak
English: Oak, English oak, Truffle Oak, Pedunculate Oak
Botanical description
A large, beautiful, powerful deciduous tree, reaching 40-50 m in height and 2 m in diameter, sometimes 1000 or more years old. Oak evaporates during the warm season more than 100 tons of water, 225 times its own weight. There are about 20 species of oak in our country. The most common of them is the pedunculate oak. The root is powerful, widely branched; krone - well developed, sprawling. The bark of young shoots is smooth, slightly pubescent, olive-brown, while that of old shoots is gray-brown, in cracks. Leaves - oblong, obovate, narrowed downwards, pinnately lobed alternate, simple, short-petiolate, glabrous, dark green, shiny with protruding veins. In spring, oak blooms late, one of the last among deciduous trees.
Two forms of common oak are known - early and late. In the early oak, the leaves bloom in April and fall off for the winter, while in the late oak, they bloom two to three weeks later and remain on the young plants for the winter.
Oak blossoms in April - May, when it still has very small leaves. The flowers are unisexual, monoecious, very small and inconspicuous. Male or staminate flowers are collected in peculiar inflorescences - long and thin yellowish-greenish drooping catkins, reminiscent of hazel catkins. These earrings hang from the branches in whole bunches and are almost indistinguishable in color from young small leaves. Female or pistillate oak flowers are sessile, very tiny - no more than a pinhead. Each of them has the appearance of a barely noticeable greenish grain with a raspberry-red top. These flowers are located singly or 2-3 at the ends of special thin stems. Acorns grow from female flowers by autumn. After flowering, a small cup-shaped wrapper grows first - a plush, and then the fruit itself - an acorn. Acorns ripen at the end of September - beginning of October. Acorns do not tolerate drying out, the loss of even a small part of the water leads to their death.
And so it remains solid and concrete in the forests and forests in which it lives. Among the Celts, he also assumes a significant fulfillment, acting as a deity worshiped by the Druids, who constituted the priestly class of this Aryan race that spread throughout Europe in antiquity. In a landscape full of densely vegetated forests, which only here and there allowed some gaps, called clearings, to appear, trees were to be expected to have a special power for this and other peoples.
The oak cult is found both in southern Europe and in the central part of the continent, in the forests inhabited by this specimen. In communion with Nature, the Druids performed their rituals there, in temples built in the open air. No religious ceremony took place without the use of oak leaves such as its importance to the Celts. To this day, this tree retains a special meaning for those who cultivate their spirituality.
Spreading
Oak grows in the forest and steppe zone of Europe. In ancient times, almost half of the forests of Europe were oak forests, but now oak forests make up about 3% of all forests in Europe. Often dominates in mixed forests. On the Far East, Crimea, in the Caucasus, other types of oak grow (fluffy oak, sessile oak).
Common oak is common in the middle and southern strips of the European part of Russia to the Urals. Oak does not tolerate cold and humid climates, while in the south it develops better.
Common oak forms frequent plantations or grows in a mixture with other species almost throughout Ukraine (in the steppe - mainly along river valleys).
Oaks are divided into summer, winter and evergreen. Of the 3 types of oak growing on the territory of Ukraine, the most common and important for the industry is the common oak (pedunculate or summer oak) Quercus robur L.
Depending on the species, an oak can be a tree over 35 m high or a small shrub not exceeding one meter in any direction. Fast growth, oak is able to live for several centuries, its chest reaches more than 50 cm in diameter. Sometimes it occurs in nature in this form, but then it is subjected to the passage of an animal or fungus or storm. Isolated on the lawn, the oak spreads its shoots to move around its shadow.
For experts, oak can also be grown as a bonsai. Numerous types of oaks offer wide selection leaf shapes. The most common is the sticky leaf characteristic of oak. Dense foliage united by green, variegated in some species. Flowering goes unnoticed, yellow kittens appear in late spring and early summer. Tip for sprouting acorns?
Collection and preparation of medicinal oak raw materials
As a medicinal raw material, oak bark is mainly used, which is harvested in early spring, without a cortical layer and wood. To collect the bark, only young trees cut down in logging sites and sanitary cuttings can be used. Dry it under canopies in the open air or in well-ventilated areas. AT good weather can dry in the sun. Dry bark breaks when bent, and under-dried bark bends. It is necessary to ensure that the bark does not get wet during drying, since in this case it loses a significant part of the tannins contained in it. According to the Pharmacopoeia, for non-crushed oak bark raw materials, the numerical indicators should be: tannins not less than 8%, moisture content not more than 15%, total ash not more than 8%; pieces of bark that have darkened with inside, not more than 5%, organic impurities not more than 1%, mineral impurities not more than 1%. Shelf life of raw materials is 5 years. The smell of dry bark is absent, but when infused in water, and especially in hot water, a characteristic smell characteristic of fresh bark appears. The taste is strongly astringent.
Do not grow oak acorns from forests, they are too bulky and grow too slowly to make good garden trees. Rustic to semi-brown, oak will enjoy a spot in full sun in a clear spot. Because of the large size, you will be thinking carefully about where to plant this tree. Transplantation is not easy because its roots develop in depth. Oak grows in fresh, well-drained, rich and deep soil.
A large tree, oak does not require much maintenance. Size will, however, be necessary in old pieces: it consists in removing dead wood and broken branches. Cutting is done in winter when the tree is resting or in summer. Remember to cut at the base of the branch and apply mastic or resin to heal the wound as soon as possible. Do not forget that any wound is an all-encompassing gateway for infections.
Biologically active substances oak
First of all, raw oak is considered as a source of tannins. The bark contains 10-20% tannins, they are also included in the chemical composition of leaves and fruits (5-8%). Tannins are a mixture of structurally similar phenolic compounds. From this group, the composition of oak bark tannins includes both a group of condensed and a group of hydrolyzed tannins.
In addition to tannins, oak bark contains organic acids (gallic, ellagic), carbohydrates, starch, pentosans (13-14%), flavonoids, quartzetin, proteins. The bark also contains: trace elements (mg / g): K - 1.40, Ca - 23.00, Mn - 0.60, Fe - 0.20; trace elements (µg/g): Mg - 142.60, Cu - 12.30, Zn - 10.20, Cr - 0.80, Al - 116.08, Ba - 537.12, V - 0.08, Se - 0.04, Ni - 1.84, Sr - 212.00, Pb - 3.04, B - 74.80. Ca, Ba, Se, Sr are concentrated.
The composition of oak fruits - acorns - includes starch, tannins and proteins, sugars, fatty oils (up to 5%). Thanks to this composition, acorns, together with chicory, are part of the mixture, which is used as a coffee substitute and has fairly high nutritional properties.
Oak leaves contain in its chemical composition tannins, quercetin, quercitrin, pentosans.
Gali formed on oak leaves contain a large number of tannins.
A tree of this size inevitably attracts envious and hungry beasts like leafworms, especially in humid climates. Leaf-leafs are caterpillars that dig small brownish galleries in the leaf blade, visible on the underside of the leaf. They protect themselves with a waxy cuticle, so it's hard to get rid of. There is no cure, it is best to cut and burn the affected leaves. In heavy, poorly drained soil, root rot or honey-colored mandyllaria destroy root system tree before climbing up the trunk again.
These orange-beige mushrooms grow on the base of weakened trees and dry them out after a few days. Provide the oak tree with a good supply of nutrients, remove diseased branches and let this invasion take its own course. If that doesn't seem successful, chop down the tree and burn the stump on the spot. Oak trees do not spare aphids, these small green beasts are visible to the naked eye under the leaves near the veins. To get rid of it organically, make sure your garden has ladybugs. Powdery mildew can also attack oak.
The use of oak in medicine
Galenic oak bark preparations have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. The tannins of the plant determine the main tannic effect. When galenic oak preparations are applied to a wound or mucous membrane, interaction with proteins is observed, and a protective film is formed that protects tissues from local irritation. This slows down the inflammation process and reduces pain. Tannins denature the protoplasmic proteins of pathogenic microorganisms, which leads to a delay in their development or death.
To date, data have been accumulated on the spectrum of the resorptive action of tannins, including antispasmodic, hypotensive, antiviral and a number of other effects.
The composition of tannins includes a mixture of polyphenols, which, when interacting with oxidizing radicals, form semiquinoid radicals and radical ions, in the presence of which the peroxidation intensity decreases, therefore, the antioxidant activity of tannins can be noted.
For tannins, anti-carcinogenic and anti-radiation activity has been established.
According to the method of use, oak bark preparations can be divided into two groups: external and internal use.
Oak preparations are used externally for:
• diseases of the oral cavity (gingivitis, stomatitis, amphodontosis);
• inflammation of the tonsils;
• ;
• bleeding gums;
• skin diseases(ulcers, eczema, bedsores);
• washing of purulent and decaying wounds;
• treatment of burns.
Internal preparations of oak are used for:
• treatment of enteritis, colitis, dysentery, cholera;
• complex therapy of stomach diseases;
• bleeding of the gastrointestinal tract;
• complex therapy of kidney and bladder diseases;
• poisoning with alkaloids and salts of heavy metals, as an antidote.
This white powder on the leaves is caused by a fungus and can be treated simply with whey or diluted skim milk: 1 liter of milk for 9 liters of water. Very often in oak, galls can become a problem if there are too many on the tree. They are caused by oak zincs or gall flies, an insect picker, and a sap sucker that lays its eggs in leaf outgrowths.
A bit of botany and culture
Its range extends from Mexico to Southeast Asia and New Guinea. Oak has been used for centuries for its hardwoods used in sculpture, shipbuilding or heating. The oak has a strong symbolism, it was under its branches that justice was rendered.
It should be noted that the data on the toxicological properties of tannins characterize them as practically non-toxic compounds.
Oak bark is part of various collections from medicinal plants and in the composition of complex drugs.
Oak bark is part of the preparations:
Dragee "Tonzilgon N", manufacturer "Bionorica AG", is used for acute chronic diseases of the upper respiratory tract(tonsillitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis), prevention of complications in respiratory viral infections and as an addition to antibiotic therapy for bacterial infections;
Gel "Vitaprokt" used to treat acute and chronic;
The drug "Polyhemostat" used in surgical practice as a hemostatic drug.
And at his feet there are precious truffles. Some species, such as the sessile oak, reach several tens of meters in height, while others remain shrubs. Many species have leaves with a petal margin, but some have entire leaves with a smooth or serrated margin.
Various types of oak
Flowers are kittens that appear in spring. The fetus is a pain called an "acorn" anchored in a structure called a cupula. When it ripens in September, it drops itself and leaves its cup. There are over 550 oak species, some of which produce trees and other shrubs that are deciduous or hardy in winter. This diversity of species explains why the oak is the most common tree in the world. It is found in Europe as well as in Asia and America.
The use of oak in other industries
Common oak is used as a source of wood and raw materials for the tanning industry, as a volatile, food, melliferous, fodder, ornamental and phytomeliorative plant.
For the tanning industry, oak bark at the age of 15-20 years is considered the best. Since the bark is a good tanning agent, it is used directly as a tanning material, and tanning extracts are produced from the tree.
Oak wood has a beautiful color and texture. It is dense, strong, resilient, well preserved in the air, in the ground and under water, slowly cracks and deforms, easily pricks, resistant to decay and house fungus.
The oak tree is used in shipbuilding, the furniture industry, for the production of parquet, mine and hydraulic structures, for the manufacture of rims, skids, plywood, turning and carved products, parts of horse-drawn carts (golobel, wheels). The “bog oak” is especially valued - tree trunks that have lain at the bottom of lakes or for many years for many years. Such wood becomes extremely durable and has an almost black color.
Oak wood does not have a special smell; barrels for wine, beer, alcohol, vinegar, and oil are made from it.
Oak wood is an excellent fuel.
Common oak - spring honey plant. Bees collect a lot of highly nutritious pollen on it, in some years they collect nectar from female flowers. But honeydew (exudation of plant juices) and honeydew (plant juice processed by insects) often appear on oak. In places where oak occupies large areas, bees collect a lot of honeydew and honeydew, from which they produce honey unsuitable for winter eating. To avoid the mass death of bees during wintering, such honey is pumped out.
Oak leaves contain the pigment quercetin, which, depending on the concentration, dyes wool and products from it in yellow, green, brown and black.
Oak acorns are highly nutritious food for wild animals and domestic pigs. However, cases of poisoning by acorns (especially green ones) of other domestic animals are known. Acorn flour is also suitable for human food.
Oak brooms in a Russian bath are not inferior to birch brooms, or even surpass them.
used in landscaping as an ornamental and phytoncidal plant when creating suburban groves, alleys, single plantations in parks and forest parks. Ornamental forms of common oak are known - with a pyramidal crown, in which the foliage falls 15-20 days later than in the usual one.
In France, oaks cover 40% of our forests. There are two main categories of oak: larch foliage and those with permanent leaves. The former, as a rule, are large, have leaves divided into lobules or scaly; the latter have entire leaves or spiny teeth.
Oaks prefer sun and sun exposure or partial shade. They appreciate rich, well-drained soil that is fresh and moist. oak oak prefers deep, cool and well watered soils. It is very sensitive to drought. Oak and oak cucumbers are very hardy, while green oak and kola oak, which grow in the Mediterranean zone, are less resistant to cold. Oak trees are sensitive to powdery mildew and aphids.
T. G. Yarnykh, N. V. Khokhlenkova, V. N. Chushenko, M. V. Buryak, National Pharmaceutical University, Kharkov
According to the materials of the magazine "Provisor" issue No. 7 for 2008
Photos and illustrations
Oaks are deciduous trees: widely used in the woodworking and carpentry industry, their wood is the hardest and most durable of European forests. It is an excellent wood for timber framing, railroad ties and firewood. It is also widely used in collaborations to preserve large wines due to the presence of tannin.
The Downed Oak is the best truffle oak: the truffle grows at its roots. The bark of the cork oak produces a test tube, which is traditionally used to make corks. In addition, crushed oak bark gives a tan used to prepare leather. Acorns are edible by humans, in the form of flour or roasted as a substitute for coffee beans. They are also eaten by wild or domestic animals: squirrels, deer and wild boars are very fond of it.