[FONT=&]Uses of Various Trees[/FONT]
[FONT=&]- Bark is very astringent. Fresh bark can cause vomiting. Decoction is used for mouth inflammations. Sticks can be used as toothbrush. Larger trees may be tapped for sap. Beautiful, medium-soft wood; water resistant. Good for spoons, cups, bowls etc. (Janka scale: 650)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Ash[/FONT][FONT=&] Young seeds are edible. Tea of bark is used to reduce fever and expel worms and is astringent. Tea of leaves is used as laxative. Inner bark can be used for cordage. Very good strong light and flexible wood. (Janka scale: 1320)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Aspen[/FONT][FONT=&] Inner bark can be eaten; supposedly it is sweet in the early spring. Bark can be used for containers although need to be handled carefully. Inner bark can be turned into cordage. Tea of inner bark can be used to reduce fever and mild pain. Wood is light and soft, good for eating utensils. (Janka scale: 350)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Beech[/FONT][FONT=&]- Young leaves can be eaten when young. Seeds are very good but perhaps should not be eaten in excess. Dense hard wood. (Janka scale: 1300)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Birch[/FONT][FONT=&] Sap in early spring. Inner bark; dried or boiled. Young leaves (cooked or raw). Buds and catkins can be eaten. Twigs and young leaves used for tea. Tar can be extracted from bark, used for skin problems or boiled down to make glue; it can be used as insect replant or shoe polish. Bark is used to make containers and for tinder. Cordage can be made from inner bark fibres. Wood is strong although very prone to rot when in contact with moisture; best worked green. (Janka scale: 1200)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Blackthorn[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruit, cook with water if very bitter; frost makes it better. Flowers are edible too. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Cheery[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruit, raw or cooked. Wounded trees produce an edible, sticky gum. The whole fruit, including the seed can be mashed together into a paste and then dried. Mashing and drying renders the cyanide inside the seed harmless. Beautiful, strong wood. Inner bark used for cordage. (Janka scale: around 1000, depending on species)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Chestnut, Horse[/FONT][FONT=&] -The seed is rich in saponins. Although poisonous, saponins are poorly absorbed by the human body and so most pass through without harm. Seed - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as gruel or leached and boiled. The seed is quite large, about 3cm in diameter, and is easily harvested. Unfortunately the seed is also rich in saponins, these must be removed before it can be used as a food and this process also removes many of the minerals and vitamins, leaving behind mainly starch. Inner bark can be used for cordage. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Chestnut, Sweet[/FONT][FONT=&] Seed is edible raw or cooked, although best cooked. It is rich in carbohydrates. Leaves and bark are astringent. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Dogwood[/FONT][FONT=&] Berries are edible but should not be eaten in large quantities as they can cause vomiting. Cooking could make them more edible. Young stems are flexible and good for basketry. Wood is very tough and hard. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Elder[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruit edible raw or cooked. Drying could sweeten the seeds. Leaves and stems are poisonous. Flowers, raw or cooked are edible and make good tea. Leaves act as insect replant when rubbed into skin. Elder flower tea is great for breaking fever (it combines well with yarrow and mint). Wood is good for friction fire.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Elm[/FONT][FONT=&] Leaves, raw or cooked. Immature raw fruit. Inner bark is edible. Inner bark fibre is good for making string. Wood is hard and elastic, good for bows. ((Janka scale: 800- 1000, depending on a species)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Fir[/FONT][FONT=&] Inner bark is edible. Tea makes tea. Buds can be eaten. Resin used as in pine. Wood is medium soft. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Guelder Rose[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruit is edible and non-toxic but can cause vomiting or diarrhoea if eaten in large quantity. Best cooked. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Hazel [/FONT][FONT=&] Seeds are excellent and nutritious eating. The whole seed can be rubbed on wood to polish and oil it. Leaves, catkins and bark are astringent and can also be used to reduce fever. Wood is quite soft, suitable for small things like spoons.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Hawthorn[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruits are edible and available in abundance. Can be mashed and dried into leather. Seeds can be roasted and ground for a drink. Young shoots can be eaten raw. Tea is made from died leaves. Flowers can be eaten or made into tea. The whole plant is beneficial to the heart and circulatory system; it increases the blood flow to the heart muscles and restores normal heart beat. The bark is astringent and has been used in the treatment of malaria and other fevers. Excellent hard wood. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Holly[/FONT][FONT=&]- The fruit and probably other parts of the plant contain saponins and are toxic, causing diarrhoea, vomiting and stupor. However, toxicity levels are low and it is only in very large doses that problems are likely to arise. Not really worth trying. The leaves have been used as a tea substitute. The roasted fruit has been used as a coffee substitute. Some caution is advised here, since the fruit can be purgative and emetic. Tea of leaves can be used to break a fever. Wood is white and quite strong but can impart bitter flavour if used for food utensils.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Hornbeam[/FONT][FONT=&]- Seed is reportedly edible. Leaves are astringent. Hard and dense wood; best to work it green and dry slowly. (Janka scale: 1630)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Juniper[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruit, raw or cooked, is edible. Tea can be made from fruit or leaves and stems (it is good for cough). It might irritate kidneys with prolonged use. The bark can be used for cordage or tinder. Wood is strong and hard.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Larch[/FONT][FONT=&] Inner bark is edible. Sap may perhaps be extracted in the spring. Tea can be made from the leaves. Inner bark is astringent. Resin is used as in pine. Wood is durable and quite tough. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Linden[/FONT][FONT=&] Young leaves can be eaten raw. Tea is made from the flowers. Sap can be extracted in the spring. Tea is used to as a sedative; it also promotes sweating and clears toxins from body. Inner bark makes good cordage. Wood is soft; good for carving detailed works. (Janka scale: 410)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Maple, Field & Norway[/FONT][FONT=&] Sap can be extracted in spring. Inner bark and young seeds are reported to be edible. Buds are edible. Wood is quite strong and flexible. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Oak[/FONT][FONT=&] Acorns are edible and nutritious. They need to be leeched however. Soaking in a moving water for a few days or boiling will render them good to eat. Boiling in lye from a deciduous tree can make the process much quicker. The bark is astringent and is used for gum inflammation, sore throat and diarrhoea. Chewed leaves can be applied to wounds. Oak twigs make good toothbrushes. Inner bark can be used for cordage. Young stems could be used for basketry. Wood is hard and durable under outdoor conditions. (Janka scale: 1300)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Pine[/FONT][FONT=&] Seeds are very good. The season for them is short; they should be collected when mature but before the cone drops the seeds. They can be heated to open them up. Young buds are edible. Inner bark is edible. Tea can be made from leaves. Resin can be used to make glue or to start fires and make torches. Roots that are full of resin make great fire starters. Inner fibres can be used for making ropes. Wood is light and soft. It burns well but is somewhat smoky. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Poplar[/FONT][FONT=&] Inner bark is edible; best collected in spring. Buds can be boiled for a decoction against fever. Wood is soft and easy to work. It does not burn well. (Janka scale: 410)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Rowan[/FONT][FONT=&] Fruit is edible. Large quantities of the raw fruit can cause vomiting. Unless the seed is very bitter it should be perfectly safe in reasonable quantities. Best dried and ground. Leaves and flowers can be made into tea. The bark is astringent. Wood is fine, hard and elastic. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Spruce[/FONT][FONT=&]- Inner bark is edible. Young buds are edible. Leaves make a good, healthy tea. Seed can be eaten but is small; best to collect mature and then open up with heat, so that seeds fall into a container. Makes excellent bow drill wood for making fire when used with Birch and the inner bark also makes good cord for the bow. Rootlets can be used for binding and lashing. Pitch is used as pine pitch. Wood is medium soft and fairly elastic.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Sycamore[/FONT][FONT=&] - Sap can be extracted in spring. Young seeds can be eaten. Food can be wrapped in leaves for cooking, to impart a sweeter flavour. Inner bark is probably edible, especially in spring when the sap is present. Buds are edible. Wood is hard, good for carving small and medium things such as cups and spoons. (Janka scale: 770)[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Walnut[/FONT][FONT=&] Seed is edible and nutritious; rich in fat. Sap can be collected in spring. Leaves can be used for tea. The tea is used as astringent, to kill internal parasites. Nuts can be used for polishing and oiling wood. Inner bark used for cordage. Wood is excellent; strong, durable and heavy.[/FONT]
[FONT=&]Willow[/FONT][FONT=&] Inner bark is edible. Buds, flowers and catkins make tea. Decoction is made for pain relief. It is also astringent. Inner bark is used for cordage. Young stems are used for basketry. Wood is medium hard and easy to work. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Yew[/FONT][FONT=&] The flesh of the fruit is edible (not the seed!). Not wise to experiment with other parts. Very good hard and elastic wood. [/FONT]
[FONT=&]Note [/FONT][FONT=&]From experience I can see that buds and inner bark of all non-toxic trees are edible. Another matter is the quality of those. Some buds are quite tasty and some not so. Some inner bark is bitter and more suitable for medicinal purposes. You should be familiar with the tree before you experiment further with uses which are not specified here.
Feel free to add to this list, if possible state where the info is from (personal experience is more than good enough!)
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