What Trees Give Us
For countless years trees have provided us with food, fibers, medicines, and many other substances valuable in every day life. Wood is the one product quickest to come to mind. People have used wood to make tools and construct buildings as well as for forms of art and expression. Wood has also been used as a source of fuel. Trees are also important to people in that they keep soil from eroding into rivers, lakes and oceans, and they provide enormous amounts of oxygen through photosynthesis, while consuming carbon dioxide.

Wood products are made from the millions of trees cut down in the world's forests. Sawmills cut the logs into usable lumber, which is then used in the construction, furniture, and paper making industries. Alcohol, plastics, cork and rubber are a few other products we gain from trees. Medecine is also an important resource found in trees, the bark of the cinchona tree contains quinine, which is used to treat malaria.

Food is an important product we grow certain trees for. We eat fruits, nuts, roots and other parts of trees. Tropical fruit trees are among the most popular and include, avocados, grapefruits, mangoes, and oranges. Cooler, temperate regions have fewer kinds of fruit trees, however, orchards in North America do produce vast amounts of apples, cherries, and peaches. Almonds, pecans, walnuts, and macadamia nuts are a few easily recognized species of nut producing trees. The most important nut tree of warm regions is the coconut palm, which produces coconuts. Trees also supply chocolate, coffee, maple syrup, and such spices as cinnamon.