Birch bark or birchbark is generally understood to be the bark of the Paper Birch tree (Betula papyrifera), or sometimes of related species such as Gray (Wire) Birch (Betula populifolia). For other meanings of bark, see Bark (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Betula papyrifera Marsh. ... Binomial name Betula populifolia Marsh. ...

The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which made it a valuable building, crafting, and writing material, since pre-historic times. Even today birch bark remains a popular material for various handcrafts and arts. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Prehistoric man. ...

Birch bark also contains substances of medicinal and chemical interest. Some of those products (such as betulin) also have fungicidal properties that help preserve bark artifacts, as well as food preserved in bark containers. Betulin (lup-20(29)-ene-3β,28-diol)is an abundant naturally occuring triterpene. ...

A Russian birch bark letter (14th century).

Young Novgorodians send to each other letters written on pieces of birch bark. ... Young Novgorodians send to each other letters written on pieces of birch bark. ...

Collection and storage

Birch bark can be removed fairly easily from the trunk or branches, living or recently dead, by cutting a slit lengthwise through the bark and pulling or prying it away from the wood. The best time for collection is spring or early summer, as the bark is of better quality and most easily removed. Spring is one of the four seasons of temperate zones, the transition from winter into summer. ... Summer is a season that is astronomically defined as beginning around June 21, and ending around September 23 in the Northern Hemisphere. ...

Removing the outer (light) layer of bark from the trunk of a living tree may not kill it, but probably weakens it and makes it more prone to infections. Removal of the inner (dark) layer, the phloem, kills the tree by preventing the flow of sap to the roots. An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... In vascular plants, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients, particularly sucrose, to all parts of the plant where needed. ... The abbreviation, acronym, or initialism SAP has several different meanings: SAP AG, a German software company, or its various products such as SAP R/3 or SAP Business Information Warehouse second audio program (television) Session Announcement Protocol Soritong audio player Simple As Possible Computer Architecture Structural Adjustment Program of the... Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem). ...

To prevent it from rolling up during storage, the bark should be spread open and kept pressed flat.

Working

Birch bark can be cut with a sharp knife, and worked like cardboard. For sharp bending, the fold should be scored first with a blunt stylus. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Modern stylus, used for touch-screen enabled devices such as the Nintendo DS and personal digital assistants Styli used in writing in the Fourteenth Century. ...

Fresh bark can be worked as is; bark that has dried up (before or after collection) should be softened by steaming, by soaking in warm water, or over a fire.

Uses

Birch bark was a valuable material in any part of the world where birch trees were available. Containers like wrappings, bags, baskets, boxes, or quivers were made by most societies well before pottery was invented. Other uses include: A paper bag is a container that is usually used for storing or holding something. ... Four styles of household basket. ... An empty cardboard box elaborate wooden box Boxes are highly variable receptacles. ... A quiver is a container for arrows, crossbow bolts or darts, such as those shot from a bow, crossbow or blowgun. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ...

• In Scandinavia and Finland, it was a valuable construction material when constructing roofs. For thousands of years it has been used for making shoes, see e.g. the Egtved Girl.
• In Russia Birch bark documents have been found from the Middle Ages.
• In North America the native population used birch bark for canoes, wigwams, scrolls, torches, fans, musical instruments, clothing, and more.
• In Afghanistan, the oldest known Buddhist manuscripts (some of the Gandharan Buddhist Texts) were written on birch bark.
• Birch bark makes an outstanding tinder, as the inner layers will stay dry even through heavy rainstorms. To render birch bark useless as tinder, it must be soaked for an extended period.
• Among the Ojibway people of the northern United States and Canada, a sacred craft method called "birch bark biting" is used to indent symbologically significant designs into pieces of birch bark.

Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region centered on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. ... A shoe is an item of footwear often worn on the foot or feet of a human. ... The Egtved Girl is the well-preserved remains of a 16-20 year old Nordic Bronze Age girl found in Egtved (55°37′ N 9°18′ E), Denmark in 1921. ... A Birch bark document is a document written on pieces of birch bark. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... A wood-and-canvas canoe evokes the heritage of canoeing in North America A canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, but also commonly sailed. ... == The Band == Wigwam are Alex James, the bassist from Blur and Betty Boo. ... The Ojibwa (Anishinaabe) people of North America had written down complex geometrical patterns and shapes on birch bark scrolls. ... A burning torch, discarded on the road in the wake of the Lewes Bonfire Night celebrations. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... A musical instrument is a device that has been constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... Men and women wearing suits, an example of one of the many modern forms of clothing (from the 1937 Chicago Woolen Mills catalog) Clothing is defined, in its broadest sense, as coverings for the torso and limbs as well as coverings for the hands (gloves), feet (socks, shoes, sandals, boots... The Gandhāran Buddhist Texts are the earliest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, and indeed the earliest Indian manuscripts yet discovered. ... From Old English tynder, easily combustible material used for starting a fire. ... For other uses of Chippewa, see Chippewa (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Mazinibaganjigan (Ojibwa birch bark decorative designs)
• "Wiigwaas" entry in Wiktionary

Chippewa redirects here. ...

External links

• The Birch Bark Torch, a Wilderness Way Magazine's article by Kevin Finney.
• Birchbark articles from the NativeTech site.
• Birch and Birch Bark, an article by John Zasada at an University of Minnesota site.
• Birch Bark Canoe Building Courses at the North House Folk School, Minnesota.
• Birch Bark Canoe page on the site of the Algonquins of Pikwàganagàn.

Washington Avenue Bridge at night The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, almost always abbreviated U of M, and sometimes referred to as The U by locals, is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system. ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... This article is about the Native American tribe. ...

References

• The Algonquin Birchbark Canoe () by David Gidmark. [1]