Land of the Pine

 

Mature Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata).
Rowan County, North Carolina

North Carolina has been associated with pine trees since colonial days.  The extensive stands of pine on the coastal plain gave rise to the naval stores industry in the age of sail.  European colonists produced tar and pitch from Longleaf Pine that was used to preserve the wood and ropes of sailing ships.  These sticky and aromatic substances became so closely associated with ships that sailors in the British navy were called Jack Tars.  Naval stores production caused North Carolinians to be nicknamed Tar Heels.  This name is still used for the sports teams of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Even the official toast of the state of North Carolina begins “Here’s to the land of the Longleaf Pine, the summer land where the sun doth shine.”  

North Carolina boasts eleven species of pine (genus Pinus) and they grow from the barrier islands of the coast to the western mountains.  Pines all share certain characteristics; scaly bark, cones rather than flowers and leaves in the form of needles.  Pines make two types of cones; male and female.  Male cones are small and yellow.  They release pollen into the air and dust everything from cars to ponds with a fine yellow coating.  Some of these pollen grains land on the female cones.  Young female cones are prickly nubs that take two years to mature into what we call pine cones.  Each scale of a mature female cone bears two winged seeds.  At maturity these seeds fly away from the parent tree helicopter style to start a new pine tree. 

Male cones of Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda).  These cones
are produced in spring and fill the air
with their pollen. Rowan County, North Carolina.

Young female cone of Loblolly Pine.  Pollination has already occurred 
and the seeds will develop for two years. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Mature female cone of Loblolly Pine.  This cone is shedding seeds.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The winged seeds of Loblolly Pine.  These seeds are
released from the female cone and helicopter away to
grow into a new tree.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

 Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) grows on the coastal plain from east Texas and to Virginia.  This tree has the longest needles of all the North American pines.  The needles occur in bundles of 3 and can measure over 16 inches in length.  In addition to having the longest needles, Longleaf Pines also have very large female cones that reach 9 inches in length. The scales of female cones each bears a sharp spine. Mature Longleaf Pines are tall, stately trees that are often found in open habitat with dry sandy soil called pine savannas.  Frequent fires maintain this ecosystem by killing encroaching hardwood trees but only scorching the base of the pines.  Longleaf Pines spend their first few years in the “grass stage”.  At this stage, the trees look like clumps of grass and are actively growing their extensive root system.  Longleaf Pines then enter the sapling stage and begin to grow in both height and diameter.  Mature trees can reach 100 feet in height and live for up to 300 years.  Much of the original Longleaf Pine forest has been lost to logging and development.  Now, only about 5% of the original Longleaf Pine remains and it is an endangered species. 

A Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) savanna in the Sand Hills of North Carolina.  
This forest expereinces regular fires to keep the understory open.
Weymouth Woods State Park. 

Longleaf Pine grass stage. 
Weymouth Woods State Park. North Carolina. 

 

Longleaf Pine sapling.  
Weymouth Woods State Park, North Carolina. 

Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata) does have short leaves.  The needles of this tree are 3-4 inches long and come in bundles of two or three.  Not only are the needles short, the female cones are only about two inches long, much smaller than those of Longleaf Pines. Shortleaf Pine has a wider distribution than Longleaf Pine, ranging from New York to Florida to Texas.    

Shortleaf and Longleaf Pine Needles.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Shortleaf and Longleaf Pine cones.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) is another abundant pine in the Southeast.  Its common name comes from two old English terms for thick porridge or gruel, presumably referring to the swampy habitat of some Loblollies.  Loblolly Pine grows rapidly is an important tree for lumber production in the Southeast.

Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) are trees of the mountains and foothills in the Southeast and they are found north to New England, the Great Lakes and Eastern Canada.  These are among the tallest conifers. Historical records show Eastern White Pines reaching 175 feet in colonial times.  The needles are 3-5 inches long; in bundles of five with white stripes, that gives the tree its name.  Female cones of Eastern White Pines are 4-8 inches long and lack spines on their scales.   

 

The elongate cone of Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus).  
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis) is a native insect and a great threat to pines.  This beetle is the size of a rice grain and bores through the bark into the phloem layer.  The female Pine Beetle then begins to excavate galleries and release pheromones that attract males and other female beetles.  Pine Beetles lay their eggs in the galleries and produce many more beetles.  The pine’s natural defense is to secret resin to force out the beetle but a mass infestation can overwhelm the tree and kill it.  A major Southern Pine Beetle outbreak in the early 2000s resulted in economic losses exceeding $1 billion.

 

Galleries of Southern Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis)
in a dead Loblolly Pine.  Dekalb County, Georgia. 

We use the resinous sap of pines in many industrial applications, we use their wood for construction and we pulp their trunks for paper.  Beyond this utilitarian view of pines, they are marvelous trees. Pines live and thrive in harsh environments, are among the first trees to colonize an old farm field and are keystone species in many ecosystems.  Pine forests harbor many fascinating and even endangered plants and animals.  I, for one, am pleased to live in the Land of the Pine.