Bark (botany) rope, used for example in the rigging of Viking age longships. Among the commercial products made from bark are cork, cinnamon, quinine (from the bark of Cinchona) and aspirin (from the bark of willow trees). The bark of some trees notably oak ("Quercus robur") is a source of tannic acid, which is used in tanning. Bark chips generated as a by-product of lumber production are often used in bark mulch in western North America. Bark is important to the horticultural industry since in shredded form it is used for plants that do not thrive in ordinary soil, such as epiphytes.
Willow flute tempered scale. Modern willow flutes are typically made of plastic (PVC tubing is often used), but the original willow flutes were made from sections of bark cut from green willow branches. Willow flutes could only be made this way during the spring, and became unplayable when the bark dried out. Noted modern willow flute artists include the group Hedningarna and Anders Norudde of Sweden. Other Scandinavian groups that use the Seljefløyte in traditional arrangements include Eivind Groven, Steinar Ofsdal, Groupa and Bask. There is also a Karelian variant of the willow flute that is made in Finnish Karelia and the