Saps

saps defined by the NSOED as ‘the fluid, chiefly water with dissolved sugars and mineral salts, which circulates in the vascular system of a plant and is essential to its growth’. As one would expect, the sap of many trees and smaller plants can provide nutritious food for animals, birds, and humans. This is mainly in the form of sugar syrups, several of which may be made into beverages, non-alcoholic or fermented to become alcoholic (e.g. palm toddy).

maple syrup is perhaps the most prominent example; this is obtained from at least half a dozen maple species. The black birch, Petula lenta, is a source of birch sugar.