Non-wood forest products from conifers

NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS 12

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

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(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 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
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 spp
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 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
Table 7.1 Global production of major essential oils from Cedrus, Cupressusand Juniperus – 1984 69
Table 8.1 Pine species with edible nuts 72
Table 8.2 The piñon pines of Mexico and the United States 73
Table 8.3 Dietary value of several species of pine nuts in comparison withother commercially important nuts 75
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 94

TEXTBOXES The world’s oldest and the world’s most massive trees are both conifers
How the arborvitae came to Europe 14
Bonsai, the fountain of youth 24
Naturally occurring bonsai 26
Mexico’s sacred fir 31
The gasoline tree 49
Resin added to white wine: A Greek tradition 52
Cedarwood oil - A natural pesticide? 68
Harvesting piñon nuts 80
Passing trees from generation to generation 82

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
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