Quechua people Quinine, which is found naturally in bark of cinchona tree, is known to be used by Quechuas people for malaria-like symptoms. When chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue; it is also used to alleviate altitude sickness. Coca leaves are the raw material from which cocaine, one of Peru's most historically important exports, is chemically extracted. Many indigenous women wear the colorful traditional costume, complete with bowler style hat. The hat has been worn by Quechua and Aymara women since the 1920s, when it was brought to the country by British railway workers.
Bark bread known from the 1890s, and in Finland "pettuleipä" (literally "pinewood-bark bread") was produced as ersatz bread during the Finnish Civil War of 1918. Finger sized twigs and branches were collected from deciduous trees and shrubs, and the bark split and the inner bark (the phloem and sometimes the vascular cambium) collected while still fresh. The yellow or green inner bark (depending on tree species) was dried over open fire, in an oven or dried in the sun for a few days. A mortar or mill was used to grind the bark to a fine powder to add to the flour.