Eastern White Pine

(Pinus strobus)

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Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)

Identifying Characters: Eastern White Pine is the only eastern pine with long, stalked cones with pliable cone scales.

Similar Species: There are no similar species in eastern North America, although two similar species, Western White Pine (Pinus monticola) and Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana) occur in the west.

Measurements: Mature trees are from 75 to 100 feet tall (some giants reaching over 150 feet) and from 2 to 4 feet in diameter.

Cones: Cones are 4 to 8 inches long and borne on a long stalk; cone scales are thin and partially flexible without a terminal spine.

Needles: Needles 3 to 5 inches long, borne in bundles of 5 needles; needles green with a slightly blue tint, tinged with white on their ventral surfaces; needles usually turn yellow and fall in September of their second year.

Bark: Bark on mature trees gray-black, 1 to 2 inches thick and deeply fissured into broad, connected ridges covered with small, purplish scales.

Native Range: Eastern White Pine is found across southern Canada from Newfoundland, Anticosti Island, and Gaspé peninsula of Quebec; west to central and western Ontario and extreme southeastern Manitoba; south to southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa; east to northern Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey; and south mostly in the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and northwestern South Carolina. It is also found in western Kentucky, western Tennessee, and Delaware. A variety grows in the mountains of southern Mexico and Guatemala. (Silvics of North America. 1990. Agriculture Handbook 654.)

Habitat: Eastern White Pine can form nearly pure stands on sandy soils but more commonly is found in small groves or single individuals in deciduous forests of the northeast on well-drained soils and also found along the banks of streams or rivers.

Note: Eastern White Pine is a very valuable and important timber tree and is also widely planted as an ornamental.