Trees

The inner bark of most trees is probably edible, as are the buds, seeds, and tender leaves.  Some, however, have acids etc. that are more medicinal than edible.  Like the willow, which is used for an aspirin substitute.
Black or blue berries that grow on trees or shrubs are usually edible. Red berries and black or blue ones growing on herbs not so much. Watch out for white ones that you do not know.
The photos below are thumbnails. Click on them for the clear picture.

Yellow Birch
Don’t cut down the tree expecting to scoop handfuls of succulent inner bark. Cut a small branch and scrape off the outer bark carefully. You have to chew the inner bark awhile, but it is good and good for you. The tree can also be tapped like maples.

Maples
Maples have edible seeds and inner bark. Trees with leaves that have u shaped spaces between the lobes usually have more sugar than ones with v shaped lobe junctions. The young leaves can also be eaten in an emergency. Of course they can be tapped for syrup.

The one on the left is “Hard” Maple. Sugary sap.
The one on the right is “Soft” Maple. Like Red Maple. Not so sugary as Sugar or Norway Maple.

For a drink similar to lemonade, pour a cup of boiling water over a staghorn sumac blossom cluster that hasn’t been rained on recently. Use ice or sugar if you wish. You may want to strain off the hairs. If you lick the blossom, you can tell if it’s ready. It’s called staghorn because the new growth is covered with velvet, just like a buck’s summer antlers.

The leaf on the left is from a white oak. Notice the rounded lobes. The bark of the tree is usually light brown or gray. Moss can make it look darker. The acorns are usually slightly bitter, but edible.
The one on the right is black oak(red oak). The lobes are pointed and jagged. The acorns are extremely bitter and must be crushed and boiled and the water poured off until edible. Or crushed and put in nylon hose or similar and left in a stream until edible. The bark is usually black or charcoal gray. The acorns of the black oaks take two years to mature, so if you get a bumper crop one year, you probably will get nothing the next.

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