Is pine needle tea safe?
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I was never a big fan of it but it is palatable. Some pines are absolutely toxic and should not be used, though
By way of summary, conifers refer to a class of plants/trees that have cones. Within conifers, you have several families including:
-Taxus (which are the yews)
-Cupressaceae (which includes redwoods, leyland and lawson cypress, junipers, thujas such as western red cedar.
-Pinaceae family includes the pines, larches, spruces, firs, douglas fir, hemlock, and true cedars such as atlas cedar etc.
-Taxus (which are the yews)
-Cupressaceae (which includes redwoods, leyland and lawson cypress, junipers, thujas such as western red cedar.
-Pinaceae family includes the pines, larches, spruces, firs, douglas fir, hemlock, and true cedars such as atlas cedar etc.
Can I just say that we used to collect Scots pine needles for tea whenever we saw some we could get to. Loved it and my taste buds have been ruined by too much coffee! Seriously I once drank nothing but normal tea for a year before the coffee affects wore off and I could actually enjoy the taste of tea. Eventually coffee called but Scots pine needle tea I still enjoyed through the coffee taste dominance.
We stopped when my partner got pregnant and have never gone back to it.
BTW I read that Scots pine needles are recommended because that tree is so easily identified due to bark colour and twin needles. I also found that new growth is best, we tended to stop drinking late summer.
There are probably a lot of wild foods higher in vit c than oranges. I bet you could grow a few of them if you have a garden to bear supplement shortages. We have an upper garden full of wild garlic and my partner makes a mean pesto out of it! Just, it lingers for a few more days on your breath than garlic we find.
We stopped when my partner got pregnant and have never gone back to it.
BTW I read that Scots pine needles are recommended because that tree is so easily identified due to bark colour and twin needles. I also found that new growth is best, we tended to stop drinking late summer.
There are probably a lot of wild foods higher in vit c than oranges. I bet you could grow a few of them if you have a garden to bear supplement shortages. We have an upper garden full of wild garlic and my partner makes a mean pesto out of it! Just, it lingers for a few more days on your breath than garlic we find.
Especially in the UK twin needles and bark colour are not very safe, victorians imported all kind of slightly exotic species, there are some tens of two needle pines that would grow in the UK.
We're not talking of groomed Gardens but Scottish Caledonian forests and more natural areas. Not the places victorians put trees IME. Having said that those aren't the only features to look for but iirc meant to distinguish between this species and certain iirc cypresses they get mixed with due to bark similarities or needle similarities.
I'm no expert but I learnt to identify scots pine from someone who was an expert. We often tried to find something growing that he couldn't identify. There were only a rare occasion and he still knew it was one of two species on those occasions. I have never known anyone like him. Common and Latin names for all plants, ferns and trees we crossed paths with. He had a pretty good knowledge of all nature but plants and trees were his special subject.
I'm no expert but I learnt to identify scots pine from someone who was an expert. We often tried to find something growing that he couldn't identify. There were only a rare occasion and he still knew it was one of two species on those occasions. I have never known anyone like him. Common and Latin names for all plants, ferns and trees we crossed paths with. He had a pretty good knowledge of all nature but plants and trees were his special subject.
The big ones are easier, small ones can be really difficult. Here it is easier as we only have one native and practically three foreign species, two of which are five needle ones.
Are there any two needles pines that are toxic ?
The castle policies are just across the road from us, bits of them are 'ancient' woodland still, but a lot of the policies became groomed grounds in the Victorian era, and nearby they grew Scots Pines for pit props, so we kind of have a range.
The 'pine in pairs' bit sticks with me, and there's enough Scot's Pine around that that's what I use, but I'd like to know if any others are toxic.
M
The castle policies are just across the road from us, bits of them are 'ancient' woodland still, but a lot of the policies became groomed grounds in the Victorian era, and nearby they grew Scots Pines for pit props, so we kind of have a range.
The 'pine in pairs' bit sticks with me, and there's enough Scot's Pine around that that's what I use, but I'd like to know if any others are toxic.
M
Pinus contorta is given as toxic in many Am. references. I have a few on my back yard, not going to taste them.
That's what the books say, it is not all that apparent though (walked out and looked). They tend to be longer and the sheath is more persistent. Mature trees are easy as the bark is very different from scots.
My nose can't tell any difference but contorta is more resinous than scots and it often flows quite freely. They are quite far apart genetically and also their typical home areas are far apart too, I could find no mention of hybrids sylvestris x contorta.
Fairly safe I think, contarta requires fire for efficient spreading so it mostly stays where planted. It has been planted in many places here and no mention of natural spreading and also no mention of hybrids.
Pinus contorta consists of three sub species I think (please correct me if any of this is wrong) - so you have pinus contorta contorta, pinus contorta latifolia and pinus contorta muryana. These are shore pine, lodgepole, and Sierra lodgepole respectively. Their cones all have a little spike coming from the centre of each scale.
I'd have thought Scots pine would be most easily confused with pinus nigra, which again has many varieties, notably Corsican pine. But this has buds that end in a particularly sharp point, and has longer needles. But young Scots pines also have longer needles than when mature.
I'd never heard of any of these being toxic, but this gives me something to add to my googling list.
I'd have thought Scots pine would be most easily confused with pinus nigra, which again has many varieties, notably Corsican pine. But this has buds that end in a particularly sharp point, and has longer needles. But young Scots pines also have longer needles than when mature.
I'd never heard of any of these being toxic, but this gives me something to add to my googling list.
