Non-timber forest products are any plant-based materials of commercial value harvested from forests — other than timber. The sustainable production of non-timber forest products goes by many names: agroforestry, forest farming, forest gardening, special forest products, and non-wood forest products.
Non-timber forest products are valuable commodities with potential to generate significant economic activity at the local community level — without having to destroy or degrade the forest ecosystems in which these plants thrive.
ArborReal Products, LLC is dedicated to fostering the sustainable propagation, harvesting, value-added processing, and marketing of non-timber forest products in southwestern Virginia. We strongly support preservation of all forest plant species grown for market.
There are seven main categories of non-timber forest products:
forest grown medicinal plants, such as ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, wild yam, bloodroot, ladyslipper, fringe tree, blue cohosh, hydrangea, lobelia, mayapple, New Jersey tea, passion flower, pipsissewa, sassafras, slippery elm, solomon seal, spikenard, stone root, Virginia snake root, wild ginger, and witch hazel
edible products, such as mushrooms, nuts, roots, flowers, greens, and fruits
floral or decorative products, such as pine boughs, pinecones, grape vines, fungi, leaves, pods, and stems
horticultural products, live plants for gardeners, landscapers and home decorators
fragrant essences, deciduous, coniferous and herbaceous leaves, seeds, roots, flowers and nuts from which fragrant oils are extracted
specialty wood products, household and decorative wares, and toys crafted from foraged wood
seed and root suppliers to the non-timber forest products industry.
