Ancient societies often attributed trees with magical powers and revered them as gods. Given all the ways a tree can save your life, it's not hard to see why. Check out some of their greatest uses in the article excerpt below.

1. Food. Underneath the outermost bark layer of trees like basswood or white pine, is often a thin layer of bark that is edible and sometimes sweet.
The seeds inside the little helicopter leaves of the sugar maple tree can be boiled and salted liked soy beans.
Oak trees produce acorns that, once leached of the tannic acid, can be ground into flour. Basswood leaves and young maple leaves can be eaten like spring greens.
2. Drink. You can drink the sap from white birch or sugar maple trees, sometimes even without purification.
Steep pine needles and you get a drink that is very rich in Vitamin C.
3. Equipment
Adhesives—You can make an adhesive by heating and mixing pine resin with crushed charcoal. Use this adhesive for sticking arrow heads to sticks or to waterproof tent seams.
Rope—You can make rope from different parts of different trees. Surface layer roots of white pine are very pliable and strong. The bark of willow trees can be peeled away and used as rope. You can also make rope from the inner fibers of the basswood tree
Candles—If you pour pine resin into a non-flammable container and lay a twisted piece of cloth across it, you can light the cloth to create a candle.
4. Medicine.
Tannic acid, which can be extracted by boiling acorns or the inner bark of oak trees or oak twigs, is anti-bacterial and can be used as an antiseptic wash. If you get a cut or an infection, pine resin will stop the bleeding, prevent bacteria from growing, and close the wound. Willow bark can be chewed to relieve headaches and inflammation.

It is often said that if you know the plants and their uses, walking into the rainforest is akin to walking into a pharmacy.

Little do many people know that the same can be said for most forests. For this reason, medicine is one of the greatest uses derived from trees or any plant, for that matter.

Of course, until you need medicine, you can't go wrong with the healthy energy to be acquired from trees in the form of food and drink.

Being able to enjoy this food and drink from the comfort of your fire-warmed shelter that you built with the help of wooden tools is sure a bonus, too.

With all they can do for us, trees are truly mankind's best friend.

If you liked this excerpt and would like to learn more about the exceptional abilities of trees, check out the original article at Be Prepared.