DASG Blog

Beithe

I had the pleasure, about a month ago, of undertaking research connected to the birch tree, along with some ecologists. I got to know her in the same way the old Gael did. She is a mighty tree, indeed!

Next time you’re in the woods, take a look at the environment around you and remember:

Seileach nan allt is calltuinn nan creag, Fèarna a’ lòin , beithe nan eas, Uinnseann an dubhair, darach na grèine, Leamhan a’ bhruthaich is Iubhar an lèana.

Willow of the stream and Hazel of the rock, Alder of the swamp, Birch of the falls, Ash of the southern slope, oak of the sun, Elm of the hillock and Yew of the Plain.

This rhyme was found in Campbell’s Collection of Gaelic Proverbs.

Willow trees and alders require wet places to grow. Similarly, hazel trees tend to put down their roots in rocky places. In this way, hazels can avoid overgrazing by deer.

But the birch is so adaptable that it can grow almost anywhere: in bogs, hollows, on hillsides… even in industrial waste grounds. She spread far and wide since the recession of the last Ice Age. She can live for up to ninety years.

It is common enough, because of how slender birches are, to refer to a birch grove as a cluain bharraich, although barraich is also what is usually what is known by birch branches. Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair referred to it thus in Moladh Mhòraig:

“Gach duine, tha’n Uidhist a Muideart, ’S an Arasaig dhù-ghorm a bharraich;”
 
“Each man, in Uist and Moidart, and in deep blue Arasaig of the birches.”

Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir spoke of barraich and of beithe when referring to birch trees in Òran an t-Samhraidh:
 
“Let the fresh bushy birch breath its sweet odours
On the stony heaps , and its leaves ,
Wet with the mist of the morning ,
Glitter with the beams of the sun.”
The buds of the branchy birch sprout out in the mists of May ,
The month favourable to the increase of the herd ;
Their udders flow with milk , gaiety and love spread through the herd.”
 
Rope would be made with birch branches by the Gael; gad beithe, ceileag, or siaman-barraich as was known in Torridon and in Gairloch. This would secure the thatch to the roof of the house. Beileag is what is known by birch bark in Skye.

Listen here to Lexy Campbell, an exceptionally lively informant from Lochaber, as she tells of the birch-rope that was used to secure bundles of animals skins to be sold. Gunpowder could also be made by burning birch wood, as Archie Maclean, a Muileach, told.

Gad-èisg is what is known by fish that swim amongst tree roots, at least, that is what I assume! The informant here uses the word meang, however, which actually means branch!

Lastly, spring is fast approaching; and the sap will soon be rising in the birch tree. You will hear it if you put your ear to the trunk. Birch sap makes a cool drink, not unlike coconut water. Here is a peculiar proverb, which can be found in Gaelic Proverbs, about the sap of the alder. This is an unlucky, undesirable tree in Gaelic folklore:

“’S geal gach nodha gu ’n nuig snothach an fhearna”
 
“Everything new is white, even to the sap of the alder.”

Listen here to the DASG team, as they recite these rhymes.


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