00:04Hi, guys! We usually know trees for their fruit, wood, or maybe their sap. But it turns out there
00:11are some trees that produce something far more unexpected. There are fruits that are intentionally
00:16wounded to extract ingredients for the cosmetics industry, tree bark that can be harvested multiple
00:22times to make bottle caps, and even wood that actually becomes much more valuable after being
00:27wounded. In fact, there are trees that when cut seem to bleed. So what are the trees that have
00:33the strangest and most unexpected products in the world? Here are the seven strangest trees that
00:39produce unexpected things. If you look at this tree, there might not seem to be anything special about
00:56it. Its trunk is small, its shape is not very striking, and many of them even grow in rocky
01:01and barren areas. Well, it's actually from the wounds made on the trunk of this tree that people obtain
01:07one of the aromatic substances that has been treated for thousands of years, which is frankincense.
01:16Frankincense comes from trees of the Boswellia Janus. To obtain it, small cuts are made in the
01:21tree's bark, causing a pale sticky liquid to ooze out. This liquid is not collected right away.
01:27The sap is left exposed to the air for some time until it slowly dries and hardens into yellowish resin
01:33granules. Its clumped, droplet-like shape means frankincense resin is often called tears.
01:44These granules, which look like small stones, are then harvested and sold. When burned, the resin
01:50produces smoke with a distinctive aroma. So for thousands of years, frankincense has been used as
01:55incense and a fragrance ingredient, including in various religious traditions. Even in the past,
02:02the frankincense trade was so important that trade routes were established, connecting its production
02:06areas in southern Arabia with various regions of the ancient world. And what's even more interesting,
02:14some frankincense-producing trees are able to grow in environments that seem almost impossible for a tree.
02:20In Oman and Yemen, for example, several Boswellia species can be found in dry and rocky areas.
02:40While trees are usually tapped to obtain something safe to use, this particular tree actually produces
02:47sap that shouldn't be touched carelessly. Its name is the Urushi tree or Toxicodendron vernicifluum,
02:54a tree that has been used for thousands of years in East Asia to produce one of the most famous
02:59natural
02:59coatings in the world, known as Urushi lacquer. To tame it, small cuts are made in the trunk of
03:06a mature tree. From these wounds, the sap slowly comes out. The pale-colored sap is then collected by
03:13the tapper, but this process is not without risk. Urushi sap contains urushiol, a compound also found in
03:21poison ivy, and it can cause allergic reactions and severe skin irritation in some people.
03:29Strangely, after being collected and going through the proper processing and hardening,
03:33the dangerous sap actually transforms into a hard, shiny, and durable coating.
03:39For centuries, Urushi has been used to coat various objects such as bowls, boxes, trays,
03:45furniture, and even works of art. The crafting techniques have even developed so much that they
03:52produce lacquerware items that require many layers and can take weeks or even months to complete.
04:01Most interestingly, Urushi coating does not dry in the same way as regular paint. The hardening process
04:08involves an enzymatic reaction and requires certain conditions, and once it has fully hardened,
04:13the coating is much safer to use compared to its raw sap. Thank you.
04:29When you hear about the sapudilla tree, what probably comes to mind is the brown fruit with
04:34a sweet taste that we usually eat. But it turns out long before modern chewing gum was made using
04:40synthetic materials. The sapudilla tree was actually one of the most important natural sources for making
04:45chewing gum. The sapudilla tree, or Manilcara zapota, actually has white latex found in its trunk.
04:56To collect it, tappers known as chicleros make incisions in the bark, usually in a zigzag pattern.
05:04From those incisions, white sap will flow along the path that has been made,
05:08and then it is collected at the base of the tree.
05:15This sap is called chikl. After being collected, the chikl is heated to reduce its water content
05:20until it turns into a thicker and more elastic mass. Its ability to be chewed without easily breaking down
05:28is what made chikl a natural base for chewing gum.
05:36From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the demand for chikl increased along
05:41with the growth of the chewing gum industry in the United States, with chikl from Mexico and Central
05:47America becoming a commodity harvested in large quantities. However, as the chemical industry
05:52developed, many manufacturers then switched to using synthetic materials that were cheaper and more
06:09consistent. Usually, papayas are harvested after the fruit is ripe to be eaten, but in some plantations
06:16there are papayas that are intentionally harvested while they are still green and unripe. It's not the
06:21flesh of the fruit that's sought after, but rather the white sap that comes out when the fruit's skin is
06:25cut. That liquid is papaya latex, which is the source of an enzyme called papain.
06:33To obtain it, farmers make several thin, long scratches on the surface of young papayas that
06:39are still hanging on the tree. Not long after, a milky white sap will come out from the scratches.
06:46The sap is collected using a container, then gathered and dried before being further processed
06:51to produce papain. Interestingly, one fruit is not always tapped just once. As long as the condition
06:58allows, tapping can be done again at another time. Papain itself is a protease enzyme, which means it is
07:07an enzyme that can break down proteins into smaller parts. This ability is what makes papain so useful,
07:14ranging from the food industry to various other industrial processes. One thing that may not be
07:22widely known is its use in the cosmetics industry and skin care products, including in certain
07:27formulations that utilize its enzymatic activity to help remove proteins and dead cells. On the surface of the
07:34the skin, the papaya fruit is used as a source of papain is deliberately tapped while still young, because it
07:45is
07:45at this stage that its latex can be collected. After being processed, the white liquid that initially only
07:50comes out in a few drops from the fruit's guts can be transformed into a material used in various products
07:55of
07:55much higher value. While other trees on this list are tapped to collect their sap, this particular tree
08:15is actually harvested in a way that looks much more extreme. The workers use axes to split the bark,
08:21then peel it off in large sheets. At first glance, the tree looks like it's being skinned, but this is
08:30actually how people obtain one of the natural materials you might often see on drink bottles.
08:35Its name is cork oak or Quercus suba, a tree that grows abundantly in the Mediterranean region,
08:41especially in Portugal and Spain. This tree has a very thick outer bark made up of cork tissue.
08:50Amazingly, the bark can be harvested without cutting down or killing the tree,
08:54as long as the stripping is done properly and does not damage the living part beneath the bark.
09:02However, the process cannot be done carelessly. The tree must be allowed to grow for decades before
09:08its bark is thick enough to be harvested for the first time. After being stripped, workers also cannot
09:14harvest it again the following year. The tree needs about nine years to form a thick enough layer
09:19of cork before it can be harvested again. That's why numbers are often marked on the trunk of the cork
09:26oak as a sign of the last year the tree was stripped. The sheets of bark that have been removed
09:33are then dried and go through various processing stages. One of the most famous products is the cork
09:39stopper or bottle cap, especially for wine bottles. The structure of cork filled with millions
09:46of tiny air-filled cells makes this material lightweight, elastic, and able to be compressed
09:52before slowly returning to its original shape. The leftover material can also be processed into various
09:57other products ranging from flooring and insulation to accessories.
10:16And in first place is a tree that might look like it comes from a fantasy world.
10:20Its branches and leaves resemble a giant umbrella and it only grows naturally in certain regions.
10:27And the strangest thing is when part of the tree is wounded it produces something deep red like blood.
10:33This is the dragon's blood tree or Dracaena sinabari.
10:39This tree itself is an iconic plant from the island of Sukotra in Yemen,
10:44an island famous for having many species with unusual shapes.
10:49The dragon's blood tree has very dense clusters of leaves with branches spreading in all directions.
10:54The shape not only makes it look unique, but also helps the tree cope with Sukotra's dry environment
11:01by reducing sun exposure and helping to retain moisture.
11:07However, its most fascinating secret actually lies in the resin produced by this tree.
11:12When its trunk or branches are wounded, the dragon's blood tree can produce resin,
11:17that then hardens into a deep red material. Because its color resembles blood, since ancient times,
11:24the resin has been known as dragon's blood.
11:28Of course, this isn't real blood. The red resin has been collected and used by humans for centuries.
11:35After it hardens, the resin can be crushed into powder or processed for various purposes.
11:42Historically, dragon's blood was used as a red dye, a varnish ingredient, incense, and even in various traditional medicines.
11:58There you have it, seven strange trees that produce unexpected things.
12:02I hope this information is useful, and see you in our next video. Thank you.
