Leijpark013

@leijpark013 · 29 Sep 2023

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Leijpark013 Sugar Birch

Written by Thierry P. Dinjens ·

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The Leijpark is a tree park. We know the park's big giants, such as the almost 35 meter tall poplar. We know the highlights, such as the red beech and the Caucasian wingnuts. We know the white and red plumes of horse chestnuts. But what we probably don't know yet is a fairly inconspicuous tree, which stands out anyway, as it is probably the rarest tree in the Leij Park: the Sugar Birch.
The tree is still quite small at the moment, given that it can be up to twenty meters high. In North America and Canada, where it comes from, it gets even higher. The Sugar Birch was of great importance to the indigenous inhabitants of North America. They used the tree in many ways:
- Birch oil was extracted from the trunk and bark of the tree. This oil protected the skin and made it firmer.
- Birch sap was drained and drunk, it was a source of vitamin C, among other things. Cooked birch sap provided a syrup that was used for colds and stomach flu.
- Birch sap was also cooked, then honey was added and then fermented to make beer and vinegar.
- Huts were built from the wood.
- And: the twigs acted as natural toothbrushes! Once bruised, they spread a lovely sweet, fresh scent that cleansed and refreshed teeth.
De Suikerberk is located in a fairly open area in the Leijpark. It is important that the soil is loosened thoroughly before the tree was planted. Then the soil is beautifully permeable to water and that's what birches love, including the Sugar Birch. This tree is highly sensitive to compaction and hardening. So when the soil is pressed together, for example because heavy cars drive over it, its roots suffocate. Roads or paths that have been built or are still to be built can also seriously disturb the roots. That would be a shame given the dimensions that the tree can reach. In the Netherlands, there is only one large sugar birch; (18 meters high), at the Oosterbegraafplaats in Enschede. How cool would it be if our tree could also reach such dimensions? Then the Suikerberk would go into the books: as a very rare tree, only found at the cemetery in Enschede and in the Leijpark in Tilburg. Such a tree can put an entire park on the map!
So let's cherish her and let's not put anything in the way (literally). Tomorrow's history books are being written today.

#park #sugarbirch