Embedded Files
Pinaceae
Pinus strobus
Specimen Size: 61.2ft tall, 19.75in in diameter.
Location: West of the Flagpole (the Eastern white pine is west of the flagpole, the Western white pine is east of the flagpole).
Historical Background: This species is eastern North America's most important forest tree and is the State Tree of both Maine and Michigan. Its towering height, abundance, valuable wood, and graceful beauty make it stand out. The wood was used for many purposes from ship masts to matches. Freshly cut white pine is creamy white or pale straw in color, but after aging for many years it tends to take on a deep rich tan. A tea made from the young needles is used to treat a sore throat, and as with all pines the oil is effective in treating burns.
Non-native
Native Range: Eastern North America
Identifying Features: Extremely similar to our own native Western White Pine, this 5- needled pine has 5” (12cm) needles of a dark green (paler on inner surfaces) and large tall cylindrical growing pattern. It can grow to great heights of upwards of 130’ (40m), and displays distinctive long cylindrical cones typical of a white pine. It differs from its western cousin in that its needles are glabrous rather than rough to the touch, and in general it has slightly longer cones (although the difference can be arbitrary).
Identifying Features In Depth:
Form: A straight cylindrical pine with a dense canopy and rounded top. Branches are generally ascending and the tree can reach 130’ (40m) or more in height.
Leaves: Needles in fascicles of 5, occurring along the branches more towards the tips. Needles are glabrous (smooth), and dark green, often with patches of pitch near the base, and growing to a length of about 5” (12 cm). The needles are lighter on the interior, and followed on the stem by hairy ridges. Needles are stiffer than its western cousin and persist only two seasons.
Bark: Light gray and fissured.
Reproductive Bodies: Cones are long and cylindrical, up to about 6” (15cm) in length. The scales are more papery than that of the 3-needled pines and 2-needled pines on this tour, and are a reddish brown color, convex in shape.
Native range of Pinus strobus eastern North America, compiled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Below is the description found for this species on the original Brockman Memorial Tree Tour:
Historic Tree Tour Information: West of the flagpole are two Eastern White Pines. This species is eastern North America's most important forest tree and is the State Tree of both Maine and Michigan. Its towering height, abundance, valuable wood, and graceful beauty make it stand out. The name white pine contrasts it with black and red pines, which have darker foliage and heavier, pitchier wood, and whose needles are borne in bundles of two or three instead of five like white pines. The cones are usually 4- to 8- inches (10.2- to 20.3- centimeters) long and banana-like.
The wood was used for many purposes from ship masts to matches. Freshly cut white pine is creamy white or pale straw in color, but after aging for many years it tends to take on a deep rich tan. A tea made from the young needles is used to treat a sore throat, and as with all pines the oil is effective in treating burns. White pine grows in well-drained soil and cool, humid climates but also appears in boggy areas and rocky highlands. Squirrels and many forest birds look to this tree for food and shelter.
Page updated
Report abuse