A tree can be used for fire and shelter. This is obvious to even the most inexperienced who find themselves in a survival situation. However, a tree can also provide food, drink, materials for tools, and medicine, if you know where to look. Peruse the list below to knowledge of these uses to your bank of survival knowledge.

1. Food.
Underneath the outermost bark layer of basswood or white pine is a thin layer of edible bark.
The seeds of the sugar maple tree can be boiled and salted like 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.
You can also make “tea” from the twigs or young-growth bark of white birch trees, if you steep them in boiling water. Do the same with pine needles and you get a drink that is very rich in Vitamin C.
3. Tools
Adhesives—Make an adhesive from white birches and white pines by heating the bark over a fire and extracting the pine tar or heating and mixing tree resin with crushed charcoal.
Rope—Look to the surface layer roots of white pine, the bark of willow trees and the inner fibers of the basswood tree to make strong ropes.
Candles/heaters—If you pour pine resin into a non-flammable container (such as a depression in a rock) and lay a twisted piece of cloth across it, you can light the cloth as a candle.
4. Medicine.
Boiling acorns, oak twigs or the inner bark of oak trees produces tannic acid, which can be used as an antiseptic wash. Spread pine resin on cuts to stop bleeding, prevent bacteria from growing, and close the wound. Willow bark contains a chemical called salicin that can be used as aspirin.

Knowledge of these skills is important not only to the survivor, but also to homesteaders, outdoorsmen, and preppers. You never know when you will find yourself without glue, or antibacterial ointment (something largely taken for granted these days), or even water. A favorite tip on this list is the potability of water that drips from a birch tree when cut. That, and the knowledge of the edible seeds of the maple is an excellent tip for keeping us going when we find ourselves out of water and food on the trail.

This information is courtesy of Emergency Essentials via Be Prepared.