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1Class Outline: Foods and Medicines found in forests

1. What are NTFPs?

2. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark

Latex: (Ex.1) Ford Motor Company; (Ex. 2)

Chewing gum

Resins

Medicines and poisons

Hallucinogenic bark

Tannins and cork

3. Other Examples of NTFPs

Clothing

Boats

Foods for humans and wildlife

4. Survival benefits of knowledge on NTFPs

NO Headaches, pains

Cleanliness – Sauna

5. Real story of globalization

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FACT: A forest is more than

timber to many societies!

Products/resources from

FORESTS with global

significance

1. What are NTFPs?

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QUESTION: What are NTFPs??

NTFP definition = Any material or product that grows

in the forest that is not timber or a whole tree

and has historically been locally consumed

3

IN THE PAST AND STILL TODAY

Forests

Provide an abundant diversity

of what we call

Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP):

1. What are NTFPs?

Today’s FOCUS – You can get all

of these products from Tree Bark

• Latexes

• Resins

• Medicines

• Poisons

• Hallucinogens

• Flavors

• Tannins

• Cork

• Cloth

• Canoes

• Fiber, fuel, mulch etc

• Camouflage and food

Ref: BARK. The formation, characteristics, and uses of bark around the world.

Sandved, Prance, Prance. Timber Press. 1993.

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THESE ARE

ALL

EXAMPLES

OF NTFPs

1. What are NTFPs?

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Human Uses – NOTE uses do not kill the trees

• rubber production – more than 2000 species of plants

produce rubber (most important - Brazilian or Pará

rubber tree, 90% rubber produced from this species)

• chewing gum

• electrical insulating compounds

WHY Plants Produce it -

• defensive against predatory insects (thick and

sticky latex gums up insect mouthparts or poisons

insects with noxious / repellant compounds)

52. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark

Latex: the Ford Motor Company and chewing gum

RUBBER HISTORY:

first recorded use of rubber by Olmecs; knowledge of natural latex

from the Hevea tree passed onto to the ancient Maya in 1600 BCE

Maya Ball Court,

Xunantunich in Belizehttp://ldfieldjournal.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/r

ubber-trees-in-belize-making-the-mayan-ball-

game-possible-since-1600-bc/

The ball game

significant in Mayan

culture & society

• ritual sacrifice

believed to coincide

with important dates

in Maya calendar

• Believed winners of

the game sacrificed!

• rubber balls used for

their ancient ball

games

A centuries-old latex ball made by the

Olmec in what is now Mexico. Photo

Source: National Geographic

6Latex example #1

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http://makinglatexclothing.com/page/3/

When samples of rubber first arrived in

England, Joseph Priestley noted in 1770

extremely good for rubbing off pencil marks

on paper, hence he named it rubber. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rubber_tree_plantation_Thailand_%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%81%AE

%E3%82%B4%E3%83%A0%E5%9C%92_DSC05246.jpg

Erasers still called

rubbers in England

7Latex example #1

Brazil lost the rubber

industry to Asia through

some devious activities!!

Asian rubber plantations owe

existence to British

swashbuckler - Henry Wickham

- smuggled 70,000 rubber seeds

from Brazil to London's Kew

Gardens in 1876

The Brazilians still

talk about this and

have not forgiven

Henry Wickham!!

8Latex example #1

Size of rubber

seeds

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The Pará rubber tree, originally from Brazil,

now occupies huge swathes of southeast

Asia, providing the latex necessary to make

the tires, belts, O-rings and gaskets

Synthetic rubber of equal quality still

cannot be practicably manufactured

HOWEVER don’t feel bad

for the Brazilians:

Rubber-tree plantations impossible

to grow as plantations in the tree's

Amazonian home because wiped

[killed] out aggressive native

fungus, Microcyclus ulei

9Latex example #1

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Belterra Golf Course, 1941 (THF57422)

Fordlandia Employee Housing, 1933(THF57429)

Plantations of Fordlandia & Belterra attempts by Ford Motor

Company to establish permanent rubber plantation presence in

Brazil [from 1928-1945]. Ford wanted to eliminate Great Britain’s

rubber monopoly & high cost. He wanted to control his own rubber

production.

Latex example #1

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fordlandia_-_Escritorio_local_et_all%C3%A9e_de_manguiers.JPG

Ruins of Fordlândia, circa 2005

Workers forced to live in American-style

housing just like in Michigan, with fire

hydrants (not connected to water)

QUESTION:

What is wrong

with having a

window open

out wards

instead of

inwards??

What if

someone is

attacking

you??

Latex example #1

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Dancing at Fordlandia, 1933 (THF57428)

http://www.thehenryford.org/images/THF57428.jpg

Indigenous workers

on plantations disliked

how they were treated:

• given unfamiliar food (e.g.,

hamburgers)

• had to wear ID badges

• work through the middle of

the day under hot tropical sun

In 1930 the native workers

revolted against the managers

who fled into the jungle for a

few days until the Brazilian

Army ended the revoltFord forbade alcohol,

women and tobacco within

the town, including inside

the workers' own homes

Latex example #1

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1st

2nd

Dayarine Sinoy; ESRM 101 A

Spring 2012 - My Family Rubber

Plantation in Cambodia

THIS IS NOT AN EGG!!

3rd

13Latex example #1

Raw rubber sells for approximately for

$1,400 per ton of crude rubber in

Cambodia; Oct 2014 $1,590/ton

Balls of crude rubber formed by the smoke

coagulation process, ready for export in Amazonian

Brazil. Photo GT Prance

14Latex example #1

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Base for chewing gum

HOW GET IT - chicle tappers –

chicleros – climb trees, use a sharp

machete to make zig-zag slashes in

the outer bark of the tree

• Latex drips from the cuts is collected

• Latex is carried in rubber-lined bags

to camp where it is boiled

• Once reduced, the chicle is formed

into blocks and prepared for storage

and shipment.

http://www.marc.ucsb.edu/elpilar/features/trail/documents/plants/chicl

e.htm

15Latex example #2

LATEX – best known is Chicle

Chicle: new biodegradable, eco-friendly

chewing gum, contains no

petrochemicals (other gums do) , not

stick to clothing or pavements. Once

you spit out, will turn to dust in about 6

weeks, dissolving harmlessly in water or

absorbed into the soil.

http://www.sustainabilityninja.com/eco-news/chicza-rainforest-gum-

biodegradable-chewing-gum-68991/

Small co-operative in Mexican

rainforest bringing back original

chicle processing to make a

chewing gum certified organic.

Called Chicza Rainforest Gum -

sold in supermarkets in Britain

16Latex example #2

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Plants Produce & Similar to Latex except only

found in Conifers

WHY Plants Produce it -

• Heals trees when they are wounded• Defensive against predatory insects

WHY WORK: thick and sticky latex gums up insect

mouthparts or poisons insects with noxious / repellant

compounds

Human Uses – doesn’t kill tree

• Ingredient in varnishes, shellac, lacquers

• Source of incense as copal, frankincense, myrrh

172. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark - Resins

Resin oozes from wounds in trees caused by a snout beetle.

Resin flows from tree wounds to heal the tree and prevent

infection by disease.

Sandved, Prance, Prance 1993

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Resins

2. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark - Resins

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Resin – sticky, perfumed liquid when first secreted. When in

contact with air, it hardens into a brittle glasslike

substance. Generally light yellow to dark brown in

color, flammable, and burns with a smoky flame.

How am I decorative??

19Resins

http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/creation/amber.html; http://crystal-

cure.com/amber.html

Early physicians prescribed

amber for headaches, heart

problems, arthritis etc.

In ancient times, amber was

carried by travelers for

protection

Far East, amber is the symbol

of courage

Asian cultures regard amber

as the 'soul of the tiger‘

Egyptians placed a piece of

amber in the casket of a loved

one to ensure the body would

remain whole.

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Resins

2. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark - Resins

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Why do you

see insects

in amber

jewelry??

http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/creation/amber.html; http://crystal-

cure.com/amber.html

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Resins

2. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark - Resins

222. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark - Resins

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NOTE: some of the toxic substances produced by a

plant in its bark are also those with

medicinal qualities

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3. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark – Medicines, Poisons

Shaman or

Medicine Man

in Brazil

24Medicines

MANY NATURAL

PRODUCTS ARE BOTH

MEDICINAL BUT CAN

ALSO KILL YOU:

Best known poison,

curare, is also source

of curarine, a

medicine

- Contains highly poisonous

alkaloid mixture of strychnine

- You need to know the tree and

how much to use which is not

common knowledge

3. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark – Medicines, Poisons

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SOME FACTS:

Cinchona Legend - name cinchona

came from the Countess of Chincho -

wife of a Peruvian viceroy - cured of

malarial type fever using the bark of

cinchona tree (1638)

Introduced to European medicine in

1640 by the countess of Chinchon,

even before botanists identified,

named the tree species

Physicians gave credit to the drug

because of its effectiveness with

malaria even while the identity of the

tree species remained unknown.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cinchona_officinalis_001.JPG

25Medicines

Quinine from Cinchona tree - rainforest's

most famous plant because controls malaria

Quinine from the genus

Cinchona in the coffee

family

-Years only cure for malaria

- It is still the most effective

cure for various drug-

resistant strains of malaria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cinchona_officinalis_001.JPG

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Medicines

3. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark – Medicines, Poisons

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Many types of medicinal barks are sold in

markets in Iquitos, Peru

Photo GT Prance

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Medicines

3. Examples of NTFPs from tree bark – Medicines, Poisons

28Insect

repellent

from bark

plus other

benefits

Making

thanaka

paste from

tree bark

Burma, parts of Thailand,

yellow coloured paste

called thanaka is

commonly worn on the

face by women & children

as a natural sunscreen,

insect repellent and

moisturiser. [paste made

from ground bark of the

thanaka tree]Photographhttp://www.pinterest.com/pin/84724036712673966/

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- used in various rituals

- contains tryptamines related to LSD [effects

excitability, twitching of facial muscles, nausea,

hallucinations followed by deep & disturbed sleep]

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WHY Plants Produce it??

• Defensive against predatory insects

Human Uses – doesn’t kill tree

• Powerful hallucinogens in people

Virola sebifera – bark

rich in tannins &

hallucinogenic

compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Virola_sebifera.jpg;

http://sura.ots.ac.cr/local/florula3/list_bigimg.php?img

_name=virola_sebifera_741_8.jpg&key_species_code=L

S001444&name=sebifera&genu=Virola&foto=O. Vargas

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LEFT: Yanomami Indian peels

the bark of a Virola tree to obtain

resin for snuff

Virola bark being heated over a fire, causing

the resin to ooze out

31Hallucinogenic

Photo GT Prance

Yanomami Indians boil Virola resin to remove all the liquid, then

pulverize it. Resulting powder, a hallucinogenic snuff, is used pure

or mixed other plant leaves . Photo GT Prance

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Canelle_Cinnamomum_verum_Luc_Viatour_crop1.jpg

34Flavors - spices

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Cinnamon –

Spice obtained from the inner bark

of several trees from the genus

Cinnamomum

Cinnamon trees are native

to South East Asia

Harvested by growing a tree

for 2 years then coppicing it –

not kill the tree. The

next year, about dozen shoots

will form from the roots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnamon

Ceylon bark left and Indonesia right

35Flavors - spices

Bark of the camphor

tree, Cinnamomum

camphora - relative of

cinnamon tree contains

camphor

USES:

• spice or flavorings

in cooking

• perfume in soaps

• irritant/ stimulant in

medicine

• embalming fluid

Ref: Sandved, Prance, Prance 1993

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Camphor -

Flavors - spices

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http://www.eattheweeds.com/camphor-tree-cinnamon%E2%80%99s-smelly-cousin/; http://blog.tiger-

balm.org.uk/tiger-balm-liniment-4/

LOOK AT WHAT LOOKS LIKE

CONFLICTING USES!!

37Camphor native to Japan, China, Taiwan,

northern Vietnam

GREAT INSECTICIDE: Camphor tree wood

put in closets, naturally driving away insects.

SPICE IN FOODS: Camphor wood, or leaves

and twigs, is used to make a popular

Szechuan smoked duck. Camphor oil has

been used in commercial baked goods,

beverages [main flavor in root beer], and

candy. It has also been added to milk

puddings and confections.

PAIN RELIEVER: Camphor oil is one of the

ingredients in Tiger Balm - topical pain

reliever for arthritis or knee pain

Flavors - spices

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"Tanning" (waterproofing, preserving) -

word used to describe process of

transforming animal hides into leather

using plant extracts from different plant

parts of different plant species.

Tannins are phenolic compounds

that precipitate proteins. What is

found in animal hides?http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/tannin.html

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Examples of plant species used to obtain tannins for tanning

purposes are wattle (Acacia sp.), oak (Quercus sp.), eucalyptus

(Eucalyptus sp.), birch (Betula sp.), willow (Salix caprea), pine

(Pinus sp.), quebracho (Scinopsis balansae)

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Drawing of peeling bark of hemlock trees

for tannery in Prattsville, New York - 1840s -

when it was the largest in the world

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Men tanning leather

in vats in Morocco

http://www.molon.de/galleries/Morocco/Fes/Tanneries/img.p

hp?pic=3

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What is CORK?Cork is the cambium bark of the cork oak tree, Quercus

suber, most cork is taken from one species that is native

to the Mediterranean region

Cork’s main function is to protect the trees from

hot desert winds that are common in the

Mediterranean

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http://www.recercat.net/bitstream/handle/2072/41235/Haque2.pdf?sequence=1

Cork is peeled away from the tree truck every

9-10 years, interval needed for regrowth, after

tree reached about 45 years in age

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• Roman fishermen used cork floats to keep their

nets buoyant

• Romans used cork to insulate houses and

beehives, as soles for sandals, as stoppers for

bottles, jugs, and vases, and larger buoys for

navigation of their ships

• Gaskets for engines

• Cigarette tips

• Wine bottles

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46

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http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/archive_exhibitions/south_

africa_landscape/plants_and_related_objects/mountain_aloe-

1.aspx http://museumvictoria.com.au/fiji/details.aspx?pid=792&Mode=ByTopic&Topi

c=bark_cloth

Uganda - Bark cloth typically comes from fig trees

stripped once a year & then the bark re-grows

Inner (light-colored) and outer (dark) layers of bark are separated.

Light layers, called bast, are soaked in water and then are beaten on

an anvil with a mallet of wood or stone. The beating separates the

fibers from the bast and allows for a smoother more supple fabric.

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http://www.birchbarkcano

e.net/images/peeling%20

bark2.jpg

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Squirrels, voles, porcupines

may chew off bark for food or

medication

http://adairtreecare.com/resources/insects-diseases/damage-

caused-by-animals

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Voles = small rodents chew off the

bark at the base of small trees,

shrubs during winter Stems completely girdled by

chewing will die

Voles rely on the cover of

snow, mulch or dense

shrubbery around the base of

a small tree to access the bark

CULPRIT!

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Squirrel eating the

sap of a maple tree

The Red Squirrel drinks sap

from a maple tree. The squirrel

scraps away the bark and as

the tree looses sap, the squirrel

drinks. It turns out we aren't the

only maple tree tappers.http://mrsbursksclass.wordpress.com/behavioral-adaptations/

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“Sapsucker damage on birch.

One or more evenly spaced rows

of holes that resemble nail holes

reveal sapsucker activity”

http://adairtreecare.com/resources/insects-diseases/damage-

caused-by-animals

CULPRIT!

52Sapsuckers (a type of

woodpecker) drill

holes in thin-barked

trees such as birch to

drink tree sap and eat

the insects attracted

to the ooze

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Detaching_inner_bark_of

_pine.jpg

EVEN HUMANS

HAVE EATEN BARK:

Bark of pine used as

emergency food in

Finland during famine,

last time during & after

civil war in 1918

Rye

bread!!

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PREPARATION: Soft

sheets of inner bark dried

for couple hours, then

heated over fire or coals

until light brown and

fragile. The bark then

smashed and flour

separated and

used to make rye bread.

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When there was no food

available? In Sweden we have

the word barkbröd, the bread

made of the bark of trees.

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4. Survival benefits of knowledge on

NTFPs

NO Headaches, pains

Cleanliness - Sauna

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Out in WILD, when sitting on rock massaging

a sprained ankle. What can you do?? SUFFER!

NO PROBLEM!!

• Use natural medicine for pain and swelling by finding in the

wilderness the inner bark of a poplar or birch tree

57Medicines

How to Make Aspirin From BarkJune 2, 2007 By Ron Fontaine

“In a wilderness survival setting,

knowing how to harvest and use the

salicin in tree bark is the most valuable

natural medicine knowledge you can

have.

Fever, muscle aches, osteoarthritis,

headache, menstrual cramps, arthritis

and inflammations including bursitis,

tendonitis, and traumas such as a

sprain can all be treated with a dose of

natural salicin made from the bark of

these trees”

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/how-to-make-aspirin-from-bark

A Survivalist Trainer

58SLIGHT DETOUR: Key to Survival is Information on Natural Medicines

Medicines

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Finnish vihta – birch branches with leaves -

used in traditional sauna-bathing for

massage & stimulation of the skinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_sauna

Lets talk about BIRCH again

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The Real Story of Globalization;

Saturday, August 6, 2011 As of 12:00 AM; The Wall Street Journal; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903454504576486421307171028.html

Trade is an economic activity, but its greatest impact may be

biological. Charles C. Mann on stowaway earthworms, far-

flung potatoes and the world made by Columbus

By Charles C Mann

FOREST TREES and NON-TIMBER FOREST

PRODUCTS important part of the

Globalization Story [ex. rubber trees]

605. Real story of globalization

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“Consequences of globalization

• plantations of Brazilian rubber take over tropical

forests in Southeast Asia

• plantations of soybeans, Chinese legume, replacing

almost 80,000 square miles of the southern Amazon

• In dry northeastern Brazil, Australian eucalyptus

covers more than 15,000 square miles

• …entrepreneurs in Australia are now ..establish

plantations of açaí, a Brazilian palm tree whose fruit

has been endorsed by celebrities as being super-

healthful.”

Mr. Mann is the author of "1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created,”

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Trees as part of globalization

5. Real story of globalization

62

NOTE: Many fruits or

seeds of tropical trees

are important health

food items in today’s

global markets

5. Real story of globalization

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http://www.junglephotos.com/ama

zon/ampeople/ethnobotany/coco

apod.shtml

ERIKA SCHULTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMESSaturday, March 6, 2010Organic coffee: Why Latin America's farmers are abandoning it

63

Coffee beans

MANY food/dessert come from

the Tropics!!

5. Real story of globalization

http://www.hear.org/starr/images/image/?q=070321-6113&o=plants

645. Real story of globalization

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http://nicoleciccarelli.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/cacao_produces.jpg

655. Real story of globalization

- Protein rich

and keeps a

family in the

Amazon alive

- Fruit of a palm

tree

NOTE: not

blueberries

665. Real story of globalization

10/16/2014

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67

NOTE: Açai palms

5. Real story of globalization

http://www.acaiberry.abilityhub.com/acai-berries-

pictures/

How you

collect

Açai

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Despolpando_a%C3

%A7ai.jpg

Separation of

açaí pulp from

seeds in

market Belém,

Pará Brazil

695. Real story of globalization

http://www.acaiberry.abilityhub.com/acai-berries-

pictures/

705. Real story of globalization