Sap is fluid that moves through a living plant, while tar is a dark material produced by heating wood, bark, coal, or similar organic matter. Tar is not tree sap.
Sap and tar are often confused because both can be associated with trees, stickiness, and old woodland crafts. But sap is part of a living plant’s internal transport system. It carries water, sugars, minerals, or other dissolved substances depending on the type of sap being discussed.
Tar is made after plant material is heated and chemically transformed. A pine stump, birch bark, or other wood material may produce tar under controlled heating, but that does not mean the tar was flowing inside the tree as tar. It is a product of heat and decomposition.
Resin adds another layer to the confusion. Resin is sticky and does come from some living trees, especially conifers. Pine tar may be made from resin-rich material, but resin is still not sap and tar is not resin.
The clean distinction is this: sap is living plant fluid, resin is a plant secretion, and tar is a heat-made dark product. Keeping those words separate prevents many bad explanations of traditional materials.