Silver fir puts you in a good mood and helps with inflammation and tension
Silver fir has been valued as a medicinal plant since ancient times. In the Middle Ages, it was regarded as a symbol of strength and life. Today, silver fir balm and silver fir spray are popular household remedies. Among other things, they help with exhaustion, tiredness, mood swings and bad dreams. The immune system also benefits from the natural healing power of silver fir: silver fir essential oil has a strong antiviral and antibacterial effect and helps with colds, flu, earaches and sinusitis.
The silver fir or silver fir belongs to the pine family. It grows in Canada, North America, East Asia, Central and Southern Europe. The name "silver fir" is derived from its striking light gray bark. Silver firs love cold, wet and clayey soils. At the same time, they cannot do without warmth: The more sunshine a silver fir gets, the faster it grows.
In Switzerland, silver firs grow mainly in the Jura at an altitude of 1,000 to 1,300 meters. At this altitude, the trees cool down more at night than in lower-lying regions. In addition, the needles are exposed to more intense sunlight in the morning dew. This triggers chemical processes that are responsible for the typical lemon scent that is characteristic of Swiss silver firs.
A popular remedy since ancient times
The silver fir has a light gray trunk that is covered with branches down to the ground. The branches grow criss-cross outwards and slightly upwards. This gives the silver fir its fluffy appearance and means that the branches lie close together. The tree grows in a cone shape, which means that it becomes narrower and narrower from the bottom to the top until only a single branch sticks straight up at the very top. The needles are flat and broad and do not prick.
Fir trees are the largest trees in Europe. Silver firs grow between 30 and 50 meters high. The largest silver fir stands in Montenegro and measures almost 60 meters. There are only 17 fir trees in the world that are taller than the silver fir in Montenegro. Silver firs grow quickly and last a lifetime. Under optimal conditions, they can live for over 500 years. The age of a silver fir can be easily determined by its annual rings.
The silver fir was already described as a medicinal plant by Dioscorides in the 1st century. Later, Hippocrates referred to the healing properties of silver fir resin in his works. Hildegard von Bingen raved about the effect of silver fir resin in the treatment of fresh wounds. Last but not least, herbalist Kneipp also described the healing effect of silver fir in his works.
Silver fir spray replaces a walk in the woods
Forest walks provide new energy and a clear head. The typical forest scent plays a decisive role in this. The scent comes from chemical compounds in the trees, known as terpenes. These protect silver firs and other trees from natural enemies such as bark beetles, fir lice and silver fir beetles. In contrast to the pests, humans react extremely positively to terpenes. Among other things, they strengthen the immune system. The body absorbs them through the skin and respiration.
But you don't always have time for a long walk in the woods. And sometimes the bad weather spoils your desire to go for a walk in the woods. In these and many other cases, you can easily bring the soothing effect of a forest walk into your home and "spray a forest into your living room" with a silver fir room spray.
Silver fir essential oil
Silver fir essential oil is obtained by distilling needles and twig tips. Around 200 kilograms of young twigs are needed to produce one kilogram of silver fir essential oil. They are exposed to hot steam for around five hours. This releases the beneficial substances from the needles and tips of the branches.
The hot steam rises through a tube and enters a cooler. There the water separates from the essential oil. The oil then floats on the surface of the water and can be easily skimmed off. Pure silver fir essential oil is a natural alternative to chemical substances for many ailments.
Silver fir is also an ideal sauna fragrance. 1 to 2 drops of silver fir essential oil is all you need. Sauna sessions with the scent of silver fir are ideal for boosting the body's defenses and strengthening the immune system. Silver fir oil is also ideal for meditation. It clears the mind and helps to release blockages. In addition, silver fir oil protects against nightmares, hatred of certain people and negative thoughts.
Silver fir essential oil: Effect
Body
- Antibacterial
- Antiviral
- Anti-inflammatory
- Promotes blood circulation
- Relieves pain
- Relieves congestion
- Stimulates the skin's metabolism
- Regulates the mucous membranes
- Strengthens the immune system
- Warms
Psyche
- Invigorates
- Regulates
- Aligns
- Strengthens
- Brightens the mood
Silver fir essential oil: Application
- Arthritis
- Osteoarthritis
- Colds
- Exhaustion
- Fever
- Spring fatigue
- Flu
- Urinary tract infections
- Lack of concentration
- Muscle tension
- Room disinfection
- Convalescence
- Weakness
- Tuberculosis
Silver fir essential oil for colds and infections
People who want to treat infections and illnesses in a natural way have an effective alternative with silver fir essential oil: silver fir essential oil effectively combats bacteria and viruses and is a natural household remedy for colds, flu, coughs, earaches and sinusitis. The reason: silver fir essential oil is rich in antioxidant polyphenols and provitamin A.
Antioxidants such as polyphenols and provitamin A help the body to render free radicals harmless. Free radicals are aggressive oxygen molecules that are extremely damaging to the body. They damage the genetic material of healthy cells, destroy cell walls, attack the body's own proteins and accelerate the ageing process. Antioxidants capture free radicals and other harmful substances and render them harmless. This also applies to bacteria and viruses. Both the silver fir aroma spray and the silver fir room spray are made with pure silver fir essential oil.
Silver fir hydrosol
Anyone who sits on an office chair all day or, on the contrary, has to stand all day and has no opportunity to sit down, will sooner or later suffer from muscle pain and tension. Intensive endurance and strength training can also put a lot of strain on the muscles and cause pain and tension. And sometimes you simply sleep badly and wake up in the morning with tension.
If you don't want to resort to chemical painkillers and ointments despite the severe pain, you have a natural alternative with silver fir hydrolate. The provitamin binds to various proteins in the body, which promote the formation of new cells. This allows the muscles to regenerate better. Last but not least, silver fir hydrosol relaxes muscle pain and tension.
Scent of silver fir for the psyche
The scent of silver fir in the office, bedroom or living room gives you the feeling of being in the middle of a forest. The soothing scent stimulates the production of the chemical messengers noradrenaline and dopamine. The two neurotransmitters have an uplifting and invigorating effect and trigger real feelings of happiness.
The silver fir spray strengthens resistance in all life situations and is a real "spray for happiness". At the same time, it boosts self-confidence. In difficult life situations, the scent of silver fir helps you to see things clearly and makes it easier to make decisions. In cases of mental exhaustion, bad dreams and mental imbalance, the scent of silver fir restores inner peace.
Apply the balm to the back of the neck, temples, wrist, under the nose, on the pulse or in the palms of the hands. Massage it in and inhale the pleasant fragrance slowly and deeply.
Application of silver fir room spray
Distribute the aroma spray around the room with 2-3 sprays or spray it on your pillow, sofa or armchair.
Silver fir trees used to be popular as Christmas trees
Most people think of Christmas trees when they think of silver firs. In fact, the silver fir was the Christmas tree par excellence for a long time. Nowadays, silver firs rarely find their way into our living rooms. The Nordmann fir and the silver fir have replaced the silver fir as the Christmas tree, as these trees keep their needles longer at room temperature. From the outside, however, the firs are hardly distinguishable from each other.
Silver firs are not spruces
At first glance, silver firs and spruces are almost indistinguishable. Both belong to the pine family. But the silver fir is not a spruce: firs have a light-colored trunk. The trunk of the spruce is red to brown. Spruce and silver fir also differ in their needles: spruce needles prick, while fir needles do not.
Another important difference between spruce and silver fir is the root system: the spruce puts its roots deep into the ground. The spruce spreads its roots shallowly below the surface of the ground. This difference only becomes apparent when a storm hits the forest: Spruce trees are more likely to bend over in a storm as they are less robust than fir trees.
Fir cones: the fruit of the silver fir
Fir cones are typical of fir trees. But not all cones are the same: every conifer - fir, spruce, pine and larch - has its own typical cones. These cones all have something in common: they are the fruits of their conifers. They ensure the reproduction of the tree by spreading their seeds throughout the forest. The cones of the silver fir are initially greenish, later orange-brown and finally light brown. They stand upright like candles on the branches and grow up to 18 centimetres long.
Bark beetles endanger silver firs
The bark is the outermost layer of the tree. Young silver firs have a smooth, light gray bark with mostly small resin blisters. From the age of 40 to 60 years, the silver fir develops a white to dark gray scaly bark. The scale bark is very coarse, the inner bark is reddish-brown.
Prolonged drought causes extreme damage to silver firs. Weakened silver firs are very susceptible to bark beetles. The beetles infest the trees and eat their way through the bark. In infested trees, the bark peels off and the crown turns reddish to brown. To contain the infestation of bark beetles, felled or diseased trees should be removed from the forest as quickly as possible. The bark of trees that cannot be removed must be cut off.
Silver fir wood is popular for furniture
Most trees consist of heartwood and sapwood. The heartwood is the dead wood inside the tree trunk. It is usually much darker than the outer part of the tree and its structure is very water-poor and firm. Heartwood is often used to make furniture. Popular heartwood species are pine, oak and teak. Not all trees form heartwood. These trees are called sapwood trees.
The outer part of the tree trunk is the sapwood. Sapwood is the young, active wood below the tree bark. The capillaries of the sapwood carry water and nutrients up to the crown of the tree. Sapwood is significantly lighter in color and softer than heartwood. The most popular types of sapwood for furniture are birch and hornbeam. Both the heartwood and the sapwood of silver fir are light gray. They cannot be distinguished by color. This is why silver fir furniture is made from heartwood and sapwood. Silver fir wood is very popular because it copes very well with moisture and does not yellow easily.
