<P> The papery bark of the white birch tree (Betula papyrifera) was used extensively by Native Americans . Wigwams were covered by it and canoes were constructed from it . Other uses included food containers, hunting and fishing equipment, musical instruments, toys and sledges . Nowadays, bark chips, a by - product of the timber industry, are used as a mulch and as a growing medium for epiphytic plants that need a soil - free compost . </P> <P> Trees create a visual impact in the same way as do other landscape features and give a sense of maturity and permanence to park and garden . They are grown for the beauty of their forms, their foliage, flowers, fruit and bark and their siting is of major importance in creating a landscape . They can be grouped informally, often surrounded by plantings of bulbs, laid out in stately avenues or used as specimen trees . As living things, their appearance changes with the season and from year to year . </P> <P> Trees are often planted in town environments where they are known as street trees or amenity trees . They can provide shade and cooling through evapotranspiration, absorb greenhouse gasses and pollutants, intercept rainfall and reduce the risk of flooding . It has been shown that they are beneficial to humans in creating a sense of well - being and reducing stress . Many towns have initiated tree - planting programmes . In London for example, there is an initiative to plant 20,000 new street trees and to have an increase in tree cover of 5% by 2025, equivalent to one tree for every resident . </P> <P> Latex is a sticky defensive secretion that protects plants against herbivores . Many trees produce it when injured but the main source of the latex used to make natural rubber is the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis). Originally used to create bouncy balls and for the waterproofing of cloth, natural rubber is now mainly used in tyres for which synthetic materials have proved less durable . The latex exuded by the balatá tree (Manilkara bidentata) is used to make golf balls and is similar to gutta - percha, made from the latex of the "getah perca" tree Palaquium . This is also used as an insulator, particularly of undersea cables, and in dentistry, walking sticks and gun butts . It has now largely been replaced by synthetic materials . </P>

What are the uses of trees in kannada