Energy and Environment Cabinet

Woody-Based Forest Products:
Woody-based food products include nuts, fruits and some mushrooms. Nuts with commercial markets include black walnut, Chinese chestnut, pecan, hickory, butternut, hybrid hazelnut and ginkgo. Commonly harvested commercial "minor" fruits include chokecherry, highbush cranberry, elderberry, pawpaw and persimmon. High-value gourmet mushrooms, such an shiitake or oyster, may be grown on logs or wood chips in a forest setting. These products may all be harvested for personal or commercial use. Markets for nut products exist for in-shell products, whole and crushed kernels, oils and soft abrasives from the shell. Fruits may be sold commercially for fresh fruit, jams, jellies, syrups, concentrates, flavorings and wines. The links below provide additional information about how to produce, define its uses and determine current markets. 

Woody Florals:
Woody florals include any woody plant species that has a colorful or unusually shaped stem, bud, flower, fruit or leaf. Common examples include pussy and curly willow, red- and yellow-stemmed dogwoods, forsythia, apple, cherry, plum, grape vines and witch-hazel. These plants, and many others, are regularly used in the floral industry. Woody decorative florals may be sold to florists, retailers or wholesalers. The links below provide additional information about how to produce the product, define its uses and determine current markets.  

Handicrafts and Specialty Woods:
Handicrafts and specialty woods are frequently used by artisans. For example, “banks” willow or redosier dogwood can be used to stabilize a streamside, as well as for rustic furniture. Smooth sumac, hickory, dogwood and hornbeam seedlings can be used to create beautiful walking sticks. Cottonwood bark, butternut, basswood, walnut, cherry and catalpa are favorites among wood carvers. The links below provide additional information about how to produce the product, define its uses and determine current markets.