Some trees and vines will flow lots of water like sap when cut or wounded.
Up here in cold climate Canada, we have many trees that do this in the early spring. The maple tree is probably the most well known because the sap is concentrated and made into syrup.
Possibly more important for survival is the birch tree. It's sap flows later in the spring, as the melt is in full swing (and the surface water is contaminated). It's sap has 10 times more water in it, and is a great source of not just clean primary water, but vital nutrients too at a time of year when famine typically sets in.
Box Elder / Manatoba Maple is also a great tree to collect sap from. Extremely difficult to kill, this tree can be harvested for sap like no other, and it will just bounce back like nothing happened. They grow everywhere in North and Central America, and the syrup from their sap tastes similar to butterscotch. My kids actually prefer it to maple syrup.
Up here in cold climate Canada, we have many trees that do this in the early spring. The maple tree is probably the most well known because the sap is concentrated and made into syrup.
Possibly more important for survival is the birch tree. It's sap flows later in the spring, as the melt is in full swing (and the surface water is contaminated). It's sap has 10 times more water in it, and is a great source of not just clean primary water, but vital nutrients too at a time of year when famine typically sets in.
Box Elder / Manatoba Maple is also a great tree to collect sap from. Extremely difficult to kill, this tree can be harvested for sap like no other, and it will just bounce back like nothing happened. They grow everywhere in North and Central America, and the syrup from their sap tastes similar to butterscotch. My kids actually prefer it to maple syrup.