More than tea: pine needle wool

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(Note: picture is not of pine wool.) Pine needles are known as, simply put, pine needles. No use is prescribed for them usually, but, occasionally, they are used for a tea, which is wrote about on this website. Pine needles are also used as a sort of mulch. But what about wool?

That's right. According to a document from Germany, pine needles, when treated, can be made into a "fine, strong fiber" material "not unlike hemp" which is best made into carpet, horse blankets, and other less soft items.

In addition, hats were made from a similar process and were used during the Civil War to block the hot sun while working in the fields. These hats were made with the Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) which has, as the name suggests, very long needles (or "leaves"), many times the lenghth of Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) and other common pines.