Oil of wintergreen can be distilled from the bark. The papery, shredded bark, is very flammable due to its oil content and can be peeled off and used as a fire starter even in wet conditions. Yellow birch can be tapped for syrup similarly to sugar maple, and although the sap has less sugar content, it flows in greater quantity than sugar maple. When the sap is boiled down, the wintergreen evaporates and leaves a syrup not unlike maple syrup. The sap can also be used as is in birch syrup or may be flavored. Tea can also be made from the twigs and inner bark. Native American ethnobotany Yellow birch has been used medicinally by Native Americans as a blood purifier and for other uses. The Ojibwe make a compound decoction from the inner bark and take it as a diuretic. They also make use of Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis, taking of the bark for internal blood diseases, and mixing its sap and maple sap used for a pleasant beverage drink. They use the bark of var. alleghaniensis to build dwellings, lodges, canoes, storage containers, sap dishes, rice baskets, buckets, trays and dishes and place on coffins when burying the dead. See also List of Lepidoptera that feed on birches References External links Betula alleghaniensis images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu Interactive Distribution Map of Betula alleghaniensis alleghaniensis Hardwood forest plants Trees of Eastern Canada Trees of the North-Central United States Trees of the Northeastern United States Trees of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Provincial symbols of Quebec Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains Plants used in Native American cuisine Plants used in traditional Native American medicine