Bitterroot Restoration

Fagus sylvatica (the European Beech or Common Beech) is a deciduous tree belonging to the beech. It is used in a mixed salad for the very nice mild flavour of young leaves of it. The seed can be dried and ground into a powder and then used with cereal flours when making bread, cakes etc. The seed is rich in oil. The seed is used as a dressing for salads and also for cooking. The seed residue is poisonous. The roasted seed is used as a coffee substitute. The seed should not be eaten in large quantities because it contains a deleterious principle.

A semi-drying oil (17 - 20%) is obtained from the seed, it is used as a fuel for lighting, as a lubricant, for polishing wood etc. The seed residue is poisonous. The leaf buds harvested in the winter and dried on the twigs are used as toothpicks. The leaves are gathered in autumn and used as a stuffing material for mattresses etc. Wood is hard, heavy, strong and very durable. It has a wide range of applications, including furniture, flooring, turnery etc. It makes a very good fuel, burning with a lot of heat, and yields a charcoal known as 'Carbo Ligni Pulveratus'. The wood has often been used as a source of creosote, tar, methyl alcohol, acetic acid, etc.

Medicinal Uses

The bark of Fagus sylvatica contains antacid, antipyretic, antiseptic, antitussive, expectorant, odontalgic properties. A tar (or creosote), obtained by dry distillation of the branches, is stimulating and antiseptic. It is used internally as a stimulating expectorant and externally as an application to various skin diseases. The pure creosote has been used to give relief from toothache, but it should not be used without expert guidance. The plant is used in Bach flower remedies - the keywords for prescribing it are 'Intolerance', 'Criticism' and 'Passing judgements'.