Page 1 of 8 NON -WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS 12 Non-Wood Forest Products From Conifers FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. M-37 ISBN 92-5-104212-8 (c) FAO 1995 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 - AN OVERVIEW OF THE CONIFERS WHAT ARE CONIFERS? DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE USES CHAPTER 2 - CONIFERS IN HUMAN CULTURE FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY RELIGION POLITICAL SYMBOLS ART CHAPTER 3 - WHOLE TREES LANDSCAPE AND ORNAMENTAL TREES Page 2 of 8 Historical aspects Benefits Species Uses Foliage effect Specimen and character trees Shelter, screening and backcloth plantings Hedges CHRISTMAS TREES Historical aspects Species Abies spp Picea spp Pinus spp Pseudotsuga menziesii Other species Production and trade BONSAI Historical aspects Bonsai as an art form Bonsai cultivation Species Current status TOPIARY CONIFERS AS HOUSE PLANTS CHAPTER 4 - FOLIAGE EVERGREEN BOUGHS Uses Species Harvesting, management and trade PINE NEEDLES Mulch Decorative baskets OTHER USES OF CONIFER FOLIAGE CHAPTER 5 - BARK AND ROOTS TRADITIONAL USES Inner bark as food Medicinal uses Natural dyes Other uses TAXOL Description and uses Harvesting methods Alternative sources Page 3 of 8 TANNIN Historical background Composition and properties Sources EFFORTS TO INCREASE UTILIZATION OF WASTE BARK Absorption of oil spills Particleboard Use of bark as a soil amendment and in landscaping Silvacon Other uses of conifer bark CHAPTER 6 - RESIN RESIN FROM PINES Sources Primary products Turpentine Rosin Historical aspects Species Effects of resin tapping on pines Uses Unprocessed resin Rosin and Turpentine Production and trade RESINS FROM OTHER PINACEAE Resins from Abies s pp Resins from Picea spp Other resins SANDARAC MANILA COPAL MINOR SOURCES OF RESIN FOSSIL RESIN Sources Geographic occurrence Uses CHAPTER 7 - ESSENTIAL OILS DEFINITION COMMERCIAL EXTRACTION METHODS "CEDAR" OILS Cedar leaf oil Essential oils from Juniperus and Cupressus Species Production standards Production and international trade Essential oils from Cedrus spp. ESSENTIAL OILS FROM THE PINACEAE OTHER ESSENTIAL OILS FROM CONIFERS CHAPTER 8 - SEEDS, FRUITS AND CONES Page 4 of 8 PINE NUTS Species which produce edible nuts Nutritional value Historical aspects Contemporary uses ARAUCARIA NUTS SEEDS OF TÓRREYA SPP GINGKO FRUITS AND SEEDS JUNIPER BERRIES CONES Uses Sources and markets CHAPTER 9 -NON-WOOD PRODUCTS FROM ORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH CONIFERS EDIBLE MUSHROOMS Types of fungi Edible mushrooms associated with conifers Production and trade Problems associated with harvesting of edible forest mushrooms EDIBLE INSECTS LICHENS Dyes Food Forage, floral decorations and simulated foliage DWARF MISTLETOE SHOOTS CHAPTER 10 - SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS LITERATURE CITED APPENDIX 1 - ORDERS, FAMILIES AND GENERA OF CONIFERS APPENDIX 2 - SAMPLE RECIPES WHICH CALL FOR INGREDIENTS FROM CONIFERS APPENDIX 3 - SCIENTIFIC NAMES, COMMON NAMES, PRINCIPAL NWFPs AND TYPE OF USE FOR CONIFERS MENTIONED IN THIS PAPER TABLES: Table 3.1 Varieties of Juniperus communis and their characteristics Table 3.2 Christmas tree production, exports and imports, Canada 1993-94 Table 3.3 Mexican imports of Christmas trees, 1991-93 Table 3.4 Some conifers used for bonsai Table 4.1 Prices paid to bough harvesters for selected North Americanconifers Table 5.1 Uses of conifer bark for medicinal purposes by indigenous tribesof North-western British Columbia, Canada Table 6.1 Pines, which are important commercial sources of resin Table 6.2 Principal uses of turpentine and rosin Table 6.3 Major rosin and turpentine producing countries - 1964-1966 Table 6.4 Major crude resin, rosin and turpentine producing countries1990-1993 Table 6.5 Estimated exports of gum rosin and turpentine - 1990-1994 Table 6.6 Status of the pine resin tapping industry in Honduras - 1993 Table 6.7 Families of resin producing plants, which are sources of amber Page 5 of 8 Table 7.1 Global production of major essential oils from Cedrus, Cupressus and Juniperus – 1984 69 Table 8.1 Pine species with edible nuts Table 8.2 The piñon pines of Mexico and the United States Table 8.3 Dietary value of several species of pine nuts in comparison withother commercially important nuts Table 8.4 Retail prices for conifer cones, Pacific north-western USA - 1991 Table 9.1 Edible mushrooms harvested from conifer forests in India Table 9.2 Average price per kilogram paid to mushroom pickers in thePacific north-west Region, USA - 1992 Table 9.3 Key final markets as a percentage of the total volume of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms from conifer forests in the Pacificnorth-west, USA - 1992 Table 9.4 Exports of edible mushrooms from Chile - 1990-1993 TEXTBOXES The world’s oldest and the world’s most massive trees are both conifers How the arborvitae came to Europe Bonsai, the fountain of youth Naturally occurring bonsai Mexico’s sacred fir The gasoline tree Resin added to white wine: A Greek tradition Cedarwood oil - A natural pesticide? Harvesting piñon nuts Passing trees from generation to generation ILLUSTRATIONS (Photos by author unless otherwise noted) Figure 1.1 The world’s largest conifer, the General Sherman Tree, Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Park, California (USA) Figure 1.2 Pinus longaeva in California’s White Mountains (USA) are the oldest known trees Figure 1.3 Natural conifer forests: A. Juniperus procera , Maralal, Kenya, B. Pinus brutia , Isle of Rhodes, Greece, C. Araucaria araucana , Conguillio National Park, Chile, D. Pinus roxburghii , Uttar Pradesh, India Figure 2.1 Tile silhouette of Araucaria angustifolia in a sidewalk, Curitiba, Brazil Figure 2.2 Landscape with Araucaria angustifolia made of inlaid woods, southern Brazil Figure 3.1 Araucaria columnaris is widely used as a landscape tree in the tropics (Lanai City, Lanai, Hawaii, USA) Figure 3.2 Extensive plantings of columnar cultivars of Cupressus sempervirens in the Tuscany region of Italy has given the landscape a special character Figure 3.3 Planting of Araucaria angustifolia along a golf course, Curitiba, Brazil Figure 3.4 Christmas tree production in Canada by Province - 1994 Figure 3.5 A Juniperus procumbens bonsai in the shakan style Figure 3.6 Bonsai, Pinus parviflora for sale in a street market in Hefei, Anhui Province, China Figure 4.1 A rural resident in the state of Toluca, Mexico returns home with boughs of Abies religiousa. Greenery from this tree is used to decorate churches and homes during religious festivals Figure 4.2 Baskets made from the needles of Pinus caribaea by the Misketa Indians, Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua Figure 5.1 Building in Balochistan Province, Pakistan with roof made from strips of the bark of Juniperus excelsa Figure 5.2 The western yew, Taxus brevifolia , is a prime source of the anti-cancer drug, taxol Figure 5.3 Close up of the foliage of Taxus brevifolia. Figure 6.1 Resin collection on Pinus massoniana , Anhui Province, China Figure 6.2 A woman collects resin from Pinus merkusii , Vinh Province, Vietnam Figure 8.1 Edible seeds of Pinus edulis Figure 8.2 An Anasazi cliff dwelling in northern New Mexico, USA. Some anthropologists believe that it was the occurrence of Pinus edulis, which provided a stable food source, that allowed an advanced civilization to develop in this region Figure 8.3 A forest of Pinus edulis in Owl Canyon, near Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.This stand is some150- km north-east of the main distribution of this species and may be the result of indigenous people accidentally spilling seed along an ancient trade route Figure 8.4 A grove of Pinus pinea , south of Rome, Italy The edible seeds of this species are important in international trade Figure 8.5 Packaged nuts of Pinus koraiensis . The nuts of this species are harvested in China and exported world -wide Page 6 of 8 Figure 8.6 Chilgoza , the edible nuts of Pinus gerardiana , for sale in a market in Quetta, Balochistan Province, Pakistan Figure 8.7 Nuts of Araucaria angustifolia, these are an important food item in southern Brazil and adjoining portions of Argentina Figure 8.8 The fruits of Juniperus communis are an important ingredient in manufacture of gin and a traditional spice in a number of continental European dishes Figure 8.9 Bird curio made from a cone of Pinus roxburgii , Uttar Pradesh, India Figure 9.1 Mature larva of the Pandora moth, Coloradia Pandora This insect defoliates several pine species in western North America and is a traditional food of the Paiute tribe of the Owens Valley -Mono Lake area of California, USA Figure 9.2 The wolf lichen, Letharia vulpina , is a traditional source of yellow dye for the Tlingit Indians of Alaska Figure 9.3 Areal shoots of the dwarf mistetoe, Arceuthobium occidentalis , a parasite of Pinus sabiniana . This plant was used for medicinal purposes by indigenous tribes in California, USA Figure 9.4 Dwarf mistletoe, Arceuthobium oxycedri, infections on Juniperus excelsa , Balochistan Province, Pakistan. The shoots of this parasitic plant are gathered by herdsmen as a food for livestock FOREWORD Conifers are capable of growing under a wide range of ecological conditions and dominate large areas of the world ’s forests. Conifer forests are especially abundant in the boreal and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, but are also important components of many tropical and sub-tropical forest ecosystems in both humid and semi-arid zones. In 1995, almost two thirds of the world’s total industrial roundwood production came from conifers according to the statistics in FAO’s Forest ProductsYearbook. In addition to their huge wood production potential, many conifers are capable of providing a wide range of non -wood products that are of great benefit to human society.