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Botanical illustration of Sweet Birch
AromaticSourced entry

Sweet Birch

Betula lenta

An eastern North American birch whose bark oil is almost pure methyl salicylate, like wintergreen oil. Commercial "birch oils" are often fake.

Safety at a glance

  • PregnancyNothing recorded
  • BreastfeedingNothing recorded
  • MedicinesNothing recorded
  • Who should avoid itNothing recorded
  • AllergiesNothing recorded
  • Toxicity1 note →

Tap a box to read the safety notes below. “Nothing recorded” means our sources don't cover it, not that it's safe.

What is Sweet Birch?

Plant family
Betulaceae, the birch family
Parts used
The bark and its essential oil
Where it grows
Eastern North America
Genus
Betula
Species
lenta

Also called

Black Birch, Cherry Birch

Traditionally used for

  • Aromatic oil

Traditionally described as

  • Contains methyl salicylate

Natural compounds

Methyl Salicylate

Safety

Toxicity testing

  • Oils that are mostly methyl salicylate are highly poisonous if swallowed: in wintergreen oil, as little as 4 mL can kill a child.[1]Study

Contamination

  • None of 27 commercial "sweet birch oils" tested was genuine. They contained wintergreen oil, synthetic methyl salicylate or castor oil instead.[2]Study

What does the research say?

Laboratory & animal research

Lab and animal results show what might be worth studying in people. They don't show that the herb has these effects in humans.

  • Oil distilled from sweet birch bark is 93–99.8% methyl salicylate, the same aspirin-like compound as in wintergreen oil.[2]Study

In short

Methyl salicylate oils are highly poisonous if swallowed.

Sources

  1. [1] Phytochemistry and Biological Profile of Gaultheria procumbens L. and Wintergreen Essential Oil: From Traditional Application to Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets · DOI: 10.3390/ijms25010565Peer-reviewed study
  2. [2] Authentication and Market Survey of Sweet Birch (Betula lenta L.) Essential Oil · DOI: 10.3390/plants11162132Peer-reviewed study

This information is educational and traditional in nature, and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Unfamiliar word? See what these words mean.