Tree bark as food

Question

I saw a youtube video where this guy skinned a spruce tree stick and ate the bark while claiming it is nutritious. That got me curious since trees are everywhere and this could be a great tip so I tried searching for what kind of nutritional value it would have exactly. All i found was this page which says that the bark is "relatively nutritious" and packs around 500-600 calories per pound.

I'm not sure they realize that a grown human being on average needs 2000 kcal a day to survive for longer periods of time so you'd have to eat around a metric ton of the stuff per day. Maybe it was a typo and they meant kilocalories but that would mean the bark has to be mostly fat and all the sources I've seen say its mostly carbs.

Does anybody have solid information on what kind of nutrition tree bark has?

Answer 1

According to this entry in the Swedish wiki, flour made out of pine bark contains about 82kcal/100g, or 400 kcal/pound (thanks to a comment).

This flour is not made of the bark itself, but the thin layer between the bark and the wood. It is harvested in the spring when rising sap makes it come of rather easily. To make it into flour you have to dry it, roast it and then you sift it and presto. You have your flour.

Answer 2

Most probably the numbers were typo. There are numerous websites on pine tree bark eating. So far the best I found is this one from Survival Topics. I agree with the statement, this option should be an emergency option. The 2500 kcal requirement is more than the actual minimal need of energy per day. More like 1700-1800 given by the numbers of FAO research. So if we ask for survival, those few pounds of bark could save your life in emergency and give enough energy to hunt, find more suitable food for yourself, with @MarcusWigert's answer the nutrition fact would end up with 400 kcal/pound.

Answer 3

This doesn't really answer the question of how many calories per pound, but why eat the bark when the pine has so many good edible parts: Pining for You (Eat The Weeds).

Answer 4

I'm a biochemist, and if there's 82 kilo calories (or "calories" as used by nutrition science and how I will use the unit term from now on - because in standard conversation no one uses kcals), per 100g of pine flour then there's slightly less (12%) than 82 calories per 100 g of pine bark. There's 12% moisture in pine bark solids to evaporate when drying to obtain the flour. So, simply add 12% back to the weight of the sample and you have 82 calories per 112g of solid pine bark which translates to 82÷112×454=332.39 calories per pound.

Answer 5

Quote... All i found was this page which says that the bark is "relatively nutritious" and packs around 500-600 calories per pound.

I'm not sure they realize that a grown human being on average needs 2000 calories a day to survive for longer periods of time so you'd have to eat around...

For one thing.

If your correct in 500+ calories per pound. Then 4 pounds = 2000 calories. So by no means a metric ton.

The largest benefit to cambium, whether pine, spruce, or other species, Is that it is ever present. Pine and spruce specifically are easy to identify, and in many regions, ubiquitous.

So, there is a survival ratio, growing all around you, that is safer than most mushrooms, and more pleasant than most insects.

Many harvested wild edibles are seasonal, or very regional. Some plants, roots, fruits, and Fungii, can be easily confused with similar but toxic versions.

Pine trees are easily identified. Pine trees, are not seasonal. -even midwinter in a snowstorm, one can find pine trees, and secure cambium, with minimal effort.

Further benefit to cambium, is as a supplement. If you have a supply of meat, you may have protein and fat covered. But vegetable carbs and vitamins and minerals can be essential supplements.

Further, watch s6 of Alone, and watch Jordan starving, despite eating as much meat as he could stomach. Lean moose meat, having 1/10th the fat content of the average beef meat. So despite having an abundance of meat, it was too lean, lacking fat, and his body was still starving. Slower than living without food, but still, not thriving on lean meat alone.

So any source of supplemental nutrients, especially electrolytes, can be significantly beneficial.

Look at the nutrients in the edible parts of Pine or Spruce.

Pine Needles. Spruce green spring tips. Pinecones. Pinesap. Pine Bark Cambium.

Together, even a single pine tree, offers quite a bounty. And as a bonus, you may well find Pine Beetle grubs in your debarking.

They make excellent fishing bait, bird snare bait, and in desperation, are high in fat and protein. If you happen to be lacking meat.

I would only add, that it is extremely simple, and very low effort, to strip some Bark and harvest cambium for tea, soup, or carb chips. In a survival. Situation, especially in cold or wet weather. This is perhaps ideal survival emergency skill.

Now, Pine and spruce are not alone.

Willow is healthy cambium. Birch and aspen. Maple.

There are a long list of healthy trees to harvest in crisis.

The list is easily consulted for your region. So you can learn what to look for or avoid.