Some Interesting Uses of Pines

Water for the Canary Islands

The wind that blows off the ocean of the Canary Islands is humid. Unfortunately, it's not so easy to harvest humidity. But pine trees do it, sort of. The water gets on the needles and falls to the ground, eventually leading to the aquifiers and thus to drinking water.

Pine honey

Aphids eat the sap of pine trees, not causing serious damage, but exuding a sweet liquid, which honey bees collect and turn into honey. Locally, the honey is prized for its unique taste.

Retsina

Pine resin was used for sealing off the vessels of wine in Greece a long, long time ago. To this day, though wines no longer perish without resin acting as a means to prevent air getting in, some wine is still flavoured with pine resin.

Peanut butter pine cones

I made these in the boy scouts, if I recall. Coat pine cones in peanut butter (or warm suet, lard, etc. for that matter) then add bird seed such as sunflower seed. Place them outside randomly about an area, or more ornamentally, string them to a pine tree as if the cones still remain.

Brooms

Brooms can be made from long pine needles. Some species would likely be better than others.

Sunscreen

The resin of pine trees was used as a sunscreen by indigenous Californians. Perhaps other components were added, I am not sure.

Bedding

Pine needles can be used as bedding for animals. A warning, however, that some pines contain isocupressic acid, which can cause abortion in cattle when consumed in high amounts. If cattle are fed normally, there is no reason that they would eat pine needles. Besides, it only affects them if pregnant, and if they consume it in a large amount, and if they even bother to eat it, and only from certain species' of pine. Pillows (for people) have also been stuffed with pine needles.

Pollard wood

If the crown of a Pinus leiophylla tree gets burnt, the fire-resistant trunk will grow a new crown. Most pines cannot do this, only this one, Pitch pine, and Canary Island pine.

Starting fires

People all across the world use pine sap, pine cones, etc., to start fires. The resin catches fire very easily, and that is the reason that this is done. Central Americans use shavings of the wood, from what I can tell, to start fires. In that example, this is done with Pinus oocarpa. The stumps and taproots of Pinus palustris are rich in resin, and thus are sold as fatwood, used to start fires. Farmers sometimes dig up such fatwood, even from trees felled a hundred years ago.

Hats

During the Civil War, southerners used needles from the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) to make hats and baskets. Indigneous Californians used pine needles and roots to make baskets.

Roofing

Pine wood has been used for roofing by the Swiss. Pine bark was used for indigenous Californians.

Lubricant

Pinus koraiensis has been used to be a lubricant.

Cordage

I have made cordage out of strips of young bark from Pinus virginiana (Virginia pine.) Other pines can be used as well. The season it is harvested seems to matter, as in the winter it is seemingly less strong, but I am not sure. Pine roots can also be used, in fact, this is more commonly done.