Seven Eastern Woodland Trees Essential To Survival

Seven Eastern Woodland Trees Essential To Survival

I have been holding off on this article for awhile waiting until I did an individual writeup on each tree and demonstrating each of it's survival properties but finally decided it was best to put the information out there and make the other posts more in-depth exploring each tree fully after I'm able to show its uses in each season. Learning these trees and how to put them to use in a survival situation can mean the difference from life and death. Merely finding a Pine tree is like salvation for me in the woods. It means food, fire and shelter all in one place. Mastering wild edibles is a much harder task but knowing six trees and how to exploit those trees as a survival resource is a very doable goal even for the least experienced woodsman. I encourage you to Google these trees, learn all you can about the look at pictures of them during each season and then go out and get yours hands on the trees and try to use them to your advantage in the woods!

Need Help Identifying Wild Edibles? Learn how Here: LINK

Common Name: Pine

Scientific Name: Pinus

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine

Use One: Bedding/ shelter material

Use Two: Bacon! Fry the inner bark (in thin slices) and you have a bacon-like breakfast (fry in animal fat for best results)

Use Three: Fire Starting- fat wood, bow drill hearth, fire wood, feather sticking

Use Four: Pine needle Tea

Use Five: Pine resin glue (epoxy of the woods when mixed with charcoal)

Use Six: Resin for fire extender

Use Seven: Pine nuts

Use Eight: Candling device made from resin

Use Nine: Waterproofing agent (Resin)

Use Ten: Young roots can be used for cordage

Common Name: Willow Tree

Scientific Name: Salix

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willow

Use One: Leaves/bark for Headache/fever remedy

Use Two: Good for honey bees

Use Three: Tool Handles

Use Four: Makes great natural cordage (twisted or braided)

Use Five: Basket and trap making

Use Six: Friction Fire (bow drill)

Use Seven: Gig making

Common Name: Birch

Scientific Name: Betula

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch

Use One: Canoe building

Use Two: Container Making

Use Three: Fire Starter (gasoline of the forest)

Use Four: Drinkable Sap

Use Five: Making Tea from new growth bark

Use Six: Chaga (Tinder Fungus) will be found on these trees generally

Use Seven: Tar adhesive made from the bark

Common Name: American Basswood

Scientific Name: Tilla Americana

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilia_americana

Use One: Wild edible leaves in spring

Use Two: Edible inner bark

Use Three: Friction Fires

Use Four: Spoon Carving

Use Five: Inner Fibers can be used for cordage

Common Name: Tulip Poplar

Scientific Name: Liriodendron tulipifera

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liriodendron_tulipifera

Use One: Inner bark is perfect for birds nest

Use Two: Inner bark is good for cordage

Use Three: Friction Fire

Use Four: Fire Wood

Use Five: Soft Wood

Common Name: Oak

Scientific Name: Quercus

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak

Use One: Acorns and all of their uses

Use Two: Food Plots for deer and squirrel

Use Three: Long burning fire wood

Use Four: Wood working

Use Five: Wine/Whisky/Water Barrel

Use Six: Tannic acid (leached) is antibiotic

Use Seven: Trapping small game using acorns

Use Eight: Shelter materials

Use Nine: Tool Handles

Use Ten: Dried flowers can be used in tinder bundles

 

Common Name: Sugar Maple

Scientific Name: Acer Saccharum

Learn More Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_saccharum

Use One: Late Winter/Early Spring drinkable sap

Use Two: Seeds (The ones you made fly like a helicopter as a kid) are edible (boil or fry)

Use Three: Make maple Syrup (40 units Sap= 1 unit Syrup)

Use Four: Camp Craft, these trees yield the perfect branches DIY utensils/tools

Use Five: Smoking Meat. Will impregnate the meat with some sweet/rich flavor

Use Six: Leaves can be used to cook fish underground in a makeshift coal oven

Use Seven: Young leaves are edible

Use Eight: Firewood

Conclusions:

These seven trees are a life saver in the eastern woodlands and can without a doubt boost your long-term survivability. Food, shelter, fire, water, camp tools and much more can be yielded nearly year round from these seven trees. Being able to identify these trees year round is absolutely essential and should be a skill that everyone venturing into the woods should own. I highly recommend each of you practice identification and then begin to work with each tree to learn the best way to use that tree for your survival needs. 

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