Botanical Name:
Pinus strobus
Family Name:
Pinaceae
Description:
Eastern white pine is a large, native, evergreen conifer (bearing cones). It is a hardy, valuable tree with clustered soft blue-green needles. It has a straight trunk and horizontal branches. One row of branches is added each year, which gives the tree its shape.
Size:
50-100’
Habitat and Range:
Eastern white pine grows best in moist, well-drained soils. While it does best in moist soil, the tree has been known to tolerate everything from dry, rocky ridges to bogs. It is native to eastern North America, in a range extending from Georgia north to Newfoundland, west to Manitoba, and south to Iowa. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, for it is one of the most popular lumber trees in the world.
Attributes:
The Eastern white pine has soft, blue-green needles, that come in bundles of 5. Its brown cones are 4-8 inches long and are usually not produced until 5-10 years. The bark is green or gray, thin, smooth on young trees and becomes thick, brown to black, deeply grooved, with broad, scaly ridges as it ages.
Wildlife Value:
Eastern white pine provides food and habitat for numerous wildlife species. Songbirds and small mammals eat the seeds. This species also provides nesting sites for many birds including woodpeckers, common grackles, mourning doves, chickadees, and nuthatches.
Did you Know?
- This tree grows at a fast rate, with height increases of more than 2 feet per year.
- This species is cultivated for Christmas trees.
- Eastern white pine is a valuable timber species in the eastern United States and Canada. The soft wood is of medium strength, easily worked, and stains and finishes well. It is used for doors, moldings, trim, siding, paneling, cabinet work, furniture, and more.
Benefits to Our Community (based on carbon dioxide sequestered, storm water runoff avoided, and air pollution removed each year):
Over the next 15 years, this tree will give back $2,580 worth of benefits to our community.
