Pine inner bark as emergency food: the inner layer – only from fallen trees
Under the rough bark of the pine lies a thin, pale, juicy layer: the inner bark. In times of famine people in northern Europe made flour for bark bread from it, and survival manuals name it as emergency food. It hardly fills you up, but provides some energy and a lot of fibre. Here you learn why inner bark may only come from freshly fallen trees or branches, how to tell the pine reliably from the poisonous yew, how to peel the inner bark and how to boil, roast or grind it into flour.
- Peeling 30–60 minutes per portion; drying and grinding several hours
Explicado de forma sencilla
Under the thick, rough bark of a pine there is a thin, pale, moist layer. It is called inner bark. In the far north people used to make flour from it in very hard times and stretched bread with it.
Inner bark is emergency food when there is nothing else at all. It hardly fills you up and is hard to digest. You only take it from trees that have already fallen, because a living tree dies if you pull its bark off all the way round.
Very important: the yew also looks like a conifer but is very poisonous. Pines have long needles that always sit together in pairs, and they smell of resin.
Cómo funciona
Under the outer bark a tree has two important layers: the inner bark, which carries sugary sap down from the needles, and the cambium, a thin growth layer that forms new wood and new inner bark every year. This juicy zone is what is used as emergency food.
In spring, when the tree grows, the inner bark is especially thick and juicy and comes away from the wood easily. In winter it is thinner and sticks more firmly. On a freshly fallen tree the inner bark stays fresh for a few days, then it dries out.
Inner bark contains some sugar and starch, but mainly fibres that humans can hardly digest. Boiling softens them, roasting makes them crisp, and grinding turns the inner bark into a flour that can be mixed into grain flour.
Lo que de verdad importa
First check whether it is really necessary. Inner bark costs a lot of work and provides little energy. Water, warmth, shelter and getting help are usually more important.
The source must be right: freshly fallen trees, windthrow or freshly cut branches, with the owner's permission. Old, dry wood no longer has usable inner bark.
Small amounts and plenty of water. Anyone who eats a lot of inner bark and drinks little gets constipation and stomach ache – which can weaken you further in an emergency.
Seguridad: a qué debes prestar atención
Yew is the most dangerous mistake. It has single, flat, soft needles in two rows, red berry cups and no resin. Even small amounts of its needles or seeds can be life-threatening. If suspected, call 112 or 144 and the poison line at once.
When peeling with the knife, always work away from your body. Resin sticks strongly to hands and blade – gloves help, fat or oil removes resin from the skin.
Do not peel living trees. That kills the tree, damages someone else's property and is forbidden.
Paso a paso
Only in a genuine emergency
Pine inner bark is emergency food when there is nothing else. It provides little energy relative to the work. Before you collect it, consider: are there nuts, berries, supplies or help nearby? Water, warmth and shelter are almost always more important than inner bark.
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Only in a genuine emergency
Pine inner bark is emergency food when there is nothing else. It provides little energy relative to the work. Before you collect it, consider: are there nuts, berries, supplies or help nearby? Water, warmth and shelter are almost always more important than inner bark.
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Recognise the pine reliably
The Scots pine has long, often slightly twisted needles that always grow in pairs from a small brown sheath. The bark is thick and grey-brown below and thin and orange-reddish higher up the trunk. If you crush needles, it smells of resin. The poisonous yew has single, flat, soft needles, red berries and no resin – hands off.
Single, flat needles and red berries: yew – poisonous.
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Inner bark only from fallen wood
Look for a freshly fallen tree, windthrow after a storm or freshly cut branches – with the forest owner's permission. The wood should only be a few days old; then the inner bark is still juicy and pale. Peeling a living tree all the way round kills it and is forbidden.
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Remove the outer bark
Work on a piece of trunk or a thick branch with thin bark. Scrape or cut off the rough outer bark until a pale, whitish to yellowish, moist layer appears. That is the inner bark. Below it lies the hard wood.
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Peel the inner bark in strips
Cut two parallel lines into the inner bark, about two fingers wide, and lift the strip with the tip of the knife. In spring it can often be pulled off in long strips. Work away from your body and with gloves – resin sticks strongly.
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Boil, roast or grind
Raw inner bark is tough and resinous. Cut it into thin strips and boil it soft like noodles, or roast it over embers until crisp. For flour, dry the strips completely, roast them lightly and pound them into powder. You use this flour to stretch grain flour for flatbreads – only a small share of bark flour.
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Small amounts, drink a lot
Eat inner bark in small amounts and drink plenty of water with it, otherwise constipation and stomach ache threaten. It does not replace a proper meal but helps bridge an emergency until you find help or better food.
Errores frecuentes
- Peeling living trees all the way round
- Using yew or unknown conifers
- Eating large amounts raw
- Beber muy poco
- Using old, dry wood
Resumen rápido
Materiales
Cuchillo (de hoja fija o con bloqueo)
For scraping off the outer bark and peeling the inner bark
Corta alejando el cuchillo de tu cuerpo.
Las normas sobre llevar cuchillos varían según la región: comprueba las normas locales.
Guantes de trabajo resistentes
Against resin and splinters
Si manipulas lodo de inundación o productos químicos, usa además guantes impermeables.
Olla metálica (acero inoxidable, aluminio, titanio)
For boiling or roasting
Caliente: riesgo de quemaduras.
Bolsa de agua apta para uso alimentario
Drink a lot – inner bark has a lot of fibre
Úsalo solo para agua potable, nunca para productos químicos ni combustible.
Adecuado para
- Genuine emergencies without other food
- Spring and early summer, when the sap flows
- A supplement to stretch flour
No adecuado para
- Living trees – never peel them all the way round
- Yew and unknown conifers
- Small children and people with bowel disease
- As a permanent main food
Requisitos previos
- Telling pine reliably from yew and other conifers
- A freshly fallen tree, windthrow or freshly cut branches with permission
- Enough water to drink
Seguridad
- Inner bark contains a lot of fibre and resin. Large amounts can cause constipation, bloating and stomach ache. Start with small amounts and drink a lot.
Cómo funciona
The inner bark is the tree's transport layer through which sugary sap flows down from the needles. In spring, when the tree grows, this layer is thick, juicy and peels off easily. It contains some sugar and starch, but mainly fibre. Boiling, roasting and grinding make it softer and easier to digest.
Ventajas
- Available all year, best in spring
- Pines are widespread
- Can be dried and stored
- Easy to recognise by the needle pairs
Desventajas
- Little energy for a lot of work
- Hard to digest
- Only allowed from fallen trees
- Resinous taste
Conocimiento en profundidad
Fundamentos técnicos
In Finland, Sweden and Norway people baked "bark bread" in famine years until the 19th century: pine inner bark was dried, ground and stretched with grain flour. That shows inner bark can carry people through hard times – but also that it is a stopgap.
The US survival manual FM 3-05.70 names the inner bark of pines as edible. Today it also applies that trees belong to someone, and a tree peeled all the way round dies. That is why inner bark in our entry only comes from wood that is already on the ground.
Variantes
- Birch inner bark
- The inner bark of birch is also named as emergency food in survival manuals. The same rules apply: only from fallen trees or branches, small amounts, boiled or roasted.
- Chewing against hunger
- A piece of fresh, raw inner bark can be chewed for a long time. That eases the feeling of hunger a little without providing much energy. Do not swallow fibre remains in large amounts.
Errores frecuentes
- Peeling living trees all the way round
- Using yew or unknown conifers
- Eating large amounts raw
- Beber muy poco
- Using old, dry wood
Límites y riesgos
- Emergency knowledge only
- No exact nutritional values
- Applies to Scots pine in Central Europe
Alternativas de materiales
Deducido de las propiedades de los materiales: un sustituto debe tener todas las propiedades relevantes. Ten en cuenta las indicaciones sobre el sustituto.
- Olla metálica (acero inoxidable, aluminio, titanio)
- Botella de acero inoxidable de pared simple (Calienta solo botellas de pared simple, sin pintura ni plástico; quita la tapa antes de calentarla.)
- Bolsa de agua apta para uso alimentario
- Botella de acero inoxidable de pared simple (Calienta solo botellas de pared simple, sin pintura ni plástico; quita la tapa antes de calentarla.), Botella térmica de doble pared (Nunca la calientes directamente.), botella de PET (transparente, máx. 2 litros) (No lo calientes ni lo pongas al fuego.), Bidón de agua apto para alimentos (Usa solo recipientes que nunca hayan contenido productos químicos ni combustible.), Recipiente de almacenaje hermético apto para alimentos (Llénalo solo cuando esté limpio y completamente seco; nunca uses recipientes que hayan contenido productos químicos.), Bidón plegable o bolsa para agua (Protégelo de objetos punzantes.), Frasco o tinaja de fermentación (Usa solo recipientes aptos para alimentos, de vidrio, de gres con esmalte apto para alimentos o de plástico alimentario. No uses recipientes de metal para alimentos ácidos.), Bolsas de alimentos reutilizables con cierre (Usa solo bolsas aptas para alimentos; no las uses con agua hirviendo salvo que el fabricante lo permita expresamente.)
Los resultados proceden exclusivamente de entradas estructuradas. No se genera ninguna instrucción improvisada.
Fuentes (5)
- Headquarters, Department of the Army (USA) (2002): FM 3-05.70 Survival · Pine inner bark as edible emergency food; boil or roast
- Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung (BfR) (2017): Risiko Pflanze – Einschätzung und Hinweise · Yew as a highly poisonous plant
- Bundesrepublik Deutschland (gesetze-im-internet.de) (2009): Gesetz über Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege (Bundesnaturschutzgesetz – BNatSchG), insbesondere § 39 und § 30 · Not damaging wild plants without good reason; protected areas
- Ray Mears und Gordon Hillman, Hodder & Stoughton (2007): Wild Food · Pine inner bark and bark bread as historical emergency food in northern Europe
- Gesundheitsportal Österreich (gesundheit.gv.at), Bundesministerium für Soziales, Gesundheit, Pflege und Konsumentenschutz: Vergiftungsinformationszentrale (VIZ) · Centro de información toxicológica de Austria (VIZ), disponible las 24 horas; en caso de peligro agudo, 112 o 144