Part 40

SHORTLEAF PINE Pinus echinata Mill.

Other Name: Yellow Pine.

Growth Form: Large tree to 80 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 2 feet; crown pyramidal or rounded.

Bark: Reddish-brown, broken into large plates.

Twigs: Slender, reddish-brown, becoming shreddy.

Leaves: Needles in clusters of both 2 and 3 on the same tree, flexible, up to 5 inches long, dark green.

Flowers: Staminate crowded into several pale purple spikes up to ¾ inch long; pistillate in groups of 1-3, rose-colored.

Fruit: Cones 1-3 in a group, ovoid, up to 2½ inches long, each scale comprising the cone often bearing a small sharp prickle on the back; seeds triangular; less than ¼ inch long, with an asymmetrical curved wing up to ½ inch long.

Wood: Hard, heavy, coarse-grained, reddish-brown.

Uses: Interior finishing, paper pulp, construction.

Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes; widely planted in a variety of sites.

Range: Southern New York across Pennsylvania and southern Illinois to Oklahoma, south to Texas, east to northern Florida.

Distinguishing Features: Shortleaf Pine is distinguished by its needles which may be in clusters of 2 and 3 on the same tree.

RED PINE Pinus resinosa Ait.

Growth Form: Medium to large tree to 150 feet tall; trunk diameter up to 3 feet; crown pyramidal.

Bark: Reddish-brown, divided irregularly into plates.

Twigs: Stout, reddish-brown, becoming roughened.

Leaves: Needles in clusters of 2, flexible, up to 6 inches long, dark green.

Flowers: Staminate crowded into several purple spikes up to ½ inch long; pistillate crowded into fewer scarlet clusters.

Fruit: Cones ovoid, mostly straight, up to 2 inches long, each scale comprising the cone without any prickles; seeds triangular, up to ⅛ inch long, with a wing up to ¾ inch long.

Wood: Rather hard, heavy, close-grained, reddish-brown.

Uses: Ships, bridges, general construction.

Habitat: Dry, rocky woods.

Range: Newfoundland across to Manitoba, south to Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; also north-central Illinois and West Virginia.

Distinguishing Features: The Red Pine is distinguished by its dark green needles usually clustered near the tips of the twigs.

WHITE PINE Pinus strobus L.

Growth Form: Tall tree well over 100 feet tall in some regions of the United States; trunk diameter sometimes in excess of 3 feet; crown pyramidal.

Bark: Brown, divided into broad ridges by shallow fissures.