The Most Useful Trees in the World
The coconut palm tree is popular in Singapore because of the tasty juice and flesh that its fruit provides. The pine tree is well known throughout the world because of Christmas. However, do you know that both of these trees are the most useful trees in the world? Every part of the coconut palm tree and the pine tree can be used.
Getting to Know the Coconut Palm Tree
In Malay, the coconut palm tree is called pokok seribu guna or “the tree of a thousand uses”. The coconut palm is a member of the Family Arecaceae (palm family). It is a large tree which can grow to a height of about 30 meters tall. Its leaves can grow up to four to six meters long!
The coconut palm tree can be found in most tropical climates and is commonly found in Singapore , Malaysia , Thailand , America and even Africa .
The Tree of a Thousand Uses
While claiming that the coconut palm tree has a thousand uses may be a bit of an exaggeration, nevertheless, the tree indeed has many uses.
The Trunk: The trunk of mature coconut palm trees may be used as lumber to make boats, houses and furniture. It may also be hollowed out to make canoes.
The Fruit (coconut): Provides food and drink. Coconut water or juice is a refreshing drink that is full of nutrients. It contains sugars, vitamin E, amino acids and minerals. It is also an anti-oxidant which can help to fight and prevent cancer.
Coconut milk and oil extracted from the fruit is used to make many different kinds of food such as cakes, pastries, desserts, curries and rice.
Besides food and drink, coconut oil extracted from the fruit is used as an ingredient in shampoos, soaps, detergents, cooking oil and other beauty products. It is also used to make sunscreen and to relieve sun burnt skin.
The Shell: Used to make bowls, cups and storage containers.
The Husk: Used to make mats and ropes. The dried husks are also good fire starters.
The Leaves: Used to make baskets, mats and roofing.
Coconut Trivia:
Strange but true
Coconut shells are used to make gas masks.
Lifesaver
In World War II, coconuts saved many lives by providing the injured with glucose supply when there was no sterile glucose available.
Getting to Know the Pine Tree
A pine tree is a coniferous tree in the Pinaceae family. There are about 115 species of pine trees. Pine trees can be found in both temperate and tropical climates. However, most are found in temperate climates. Mexico and California have the largest concentration of pine trees in the world.
Useful All-Year Round
The pine tree is an evergreen tree. That means that they do not shed their leaves, even in winter. Let's see what the pine tree is useful for.
The Trunk: The pine tree is one of the most important trees that provide us with timber and wood pulp. This is because they are fast growing and resilient. The timber from the pine tree is commonly used to make furniture and doors. Wood pulp gathered from the trees can be used to make paper.
The Bark: The bark of the tree produces something called resin, which is an ingredient in manufacturing turpentine and pitch. Turpentine is commonly used to remove paint while pitch is used to make roads.
The Seeds: Some species of pine trees have very large seeds known as pine nuts. These are used in cooking and baking.
The Scent: The scent of the pine tree is believed to be useful in the treatment of asthma, though its effectiveness has not been scientifically proven.