| Eastern White Pine | ||||||||||||||||
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| Pinus strobus L. |
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the extreme north of Georgia. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for This article is about the tree For other uses of the term "pine" see Pine (disambiguation. Newfoundland — ˈn(jufənˌlænd (Terre-Neuve Talamh an Éisc — is a large island 15 km off the east coast of Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers Manitoba (English ˌmænɨˈtoʊbə French /manitoba/ is a province of Canada, spanning 647797 square kilometres (250116 sq mi of North America The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. The State of Georgia ( is a state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule
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Description
It is a member of the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five (rarely 3 or 4), with a deciduous sheath. There are three main subgenera of '''''Pinus''''', the subgenus Strobus ( White pines or soft pines the subgenus Ducampopinus ( This article is about the tree For other uses of the term "pine" see Pine (disambiguation. There are three main subgenera of '''''Pinus''''', the subgenus Strobus ( White pines or soft pines the subgenus Ducampopinus ( In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. Botany Autumn leaf color. See --> In Botany and Horticulture, deciduous Plants, including They are flexible,bluish-green, finely serrated, and 5-13 centimeters (2-5 in) long, and persist for usually about 18 months. The cones are slender, 8-16 centimeters (3-6 in) long (rarely slightly longer) and 4-5 centimeters (1. A cone (in formal botanical usage Strobilus, plural strobili is an organ on Plants in the division Pinophyta ( Conifers 5-2 in) broad when open, and have scales with a rounded apex and slightly reflexed tip. The seeds are 4-5 millimeters (3/16 in) long, with a slender 15-20 mm (3/4 in) wing, and are wind-dispersed. A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored Cone production peaks every 3 to 5 years. Mature trees can easily be 200 years old and 250 is not unusual. Some white pines live over 400 years. A tree growing near Syracuse, New York was dated to 458 years in the mid-1990s and trees in Wisconsin and Michigan have approached 500 years in age. White pines prefer well-drained soil and cool, humid climates, but also grow in boggy areas and rocky highlands.
Range and dimensions
The Eastern White Pine has the distinction of being the tallest tree in eastern North America. A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or White pine forests originally covered much of northeastern North America, though only one percent of the original trees remain untouched by extensive logging operations in the 1700s and 1800s. In natural pre-colonial stands it is reported to have grown to as tall as 70 meters (230 ft) tall, at least on rare occasions. The term colonial history of the United States refers to the history of the land that would become the United States from the start of European settlement to the time of independence Even greater heights have been attributed to the species, but the accounts are unverifiable. The current tallest pines reach to between 50 and 55 meters (160-180 ft). Within the Northeast, currently, 7 sites located in 4 states have been confirmed to have trees over 48 m (160 ft) in height. The southern Appalachians have even more locations and the tallest pines. Three locations in the Southeast and one site in the Northeast have been identified with white pines to 55 meters (180 ft) tall. One survivor is a specimen known as the "Boogerman Pine" in the Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Cataloochee is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, located in the Southeastern United States Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains At 57. 15 m (187. 5 ft) tall, it is the tallest accurately measured tree in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. Mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a Mountain range in western North America. It has been climbed and measured by tape drop by the Eastern Native Tree Society (ENTS). Before it lost its top in Hurricane Opal in October 1995, the Boogerman Pine was 63 m (207 ft) tall. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding Hurricane Opal was a major hurricane that formed in the Gulf of Mexico in September 1995 Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 The current height champion white pine of the Northeast is the Longfellow Pine in Cook Forest State Park, PA. It also has been climbed and measured by tape drop. Its current height is 55. 8 m (183. 1 ft). Within New England, a tree in the Mohawk Trail State Forest known as the Jake Swamp Tree is 51. 5 m (169 ft) tall as of June 2007. The Jake Swamp tree is the tallest in New England. It was climbed and tape drop-measured in November 1998 and again in October 2001. Precise measurements are maintained on this tree by ENTS.
Diameters of the larger pines range from 1. 0-1. 6 m (3-5 ft). However, singled-trunk white pines in both the Northeast and Southeast with diameters over 1. 45 m (4. 75 ft) are exceedingly rare. Notable big pine sites of 40 ha (100 acres) or less will often have no more than 2 or 3 trees in the 1. 2 to 1. 4 m (4-4. 5 ft) diameter class. A typical large white pine will be in the 3. 0 to 3. 7 m (10-12 ft) circumference range. Undocumented reports from colonial America reported diameters of virgin white pines of up to 8 feet in diameter (Ling, 2003).
Total trunk volumes of the largest white pines are around 28 cubic meters (1,000 cubic feet) with some past giants reaching a possible 37 or 40 m³ (1,300 or 1,400 cu ft). Photographic analysis of giant pines suggests volumes closer to 34 m³ (1,200 cu ft). Outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, other areas with known remaining virgin stands include Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario; Algoma Highlands, Ontario; Huron Mountains, Michigan (Upper Peninsula); Estivant Pines in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula; Hartwick Pines State Park; Menomonie Indian Reservation, northeastern Wisconsin; Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota; and White Pines State Park, Illinois, Cook Forest State Park, Hearts Conent Natural Area, and Anders Run, all in Pennsylvania; Linville Gorge, North Carolina. Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in central Ontario. Ontario (ɒnˈtɛrioʊ is a province located in the central part of Canada, the largest by population and second largest after Quebec The Huron Mountains are located in the Upper Peninsula of the U Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the northern of the two major land masses that comprise the U Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary is a 508 acre nature sanctuary located in Keweenaw County MI Keweenaw Peninsula (ˈkiːwənɔː roughly KEY-win-awe is the most northern part of Michigan 's Upper Peninsula. Hartwick Pines State Park is a 9672-acre (392 km² State Park in the U Wisconsin ( or wɪˈskɑnsɨn (French Ouisconsin) is one of the fifty United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States The Boundary White Pines Forest State Park, also known as White Pines State Park, is an Illinois state park in Ogle County Illinois. The State of Illinois ( roughly ill-i-NOY is a state of the United States of America, the 21st to be admitted to the Union. Small groves of old-growth pines are found: (1) on numerous sites within New York's Adirondack Park. Old-growth pines are found in the Ordway Pines, Maine; Ice Glen, Massachusetts. Many sites with conspicuously large pines represent advanced old field succession. The tall white pine stands in Mohawk Trail State Forest and on the William Cullen Bryant homestead in Cummington, both in Massachusetts, are examples. Mohawk Trail State Forest includes 83 white pines reaching 45 m (150 ft) in height or more, of which six exceed 48. 8 m (160 ft). This is the largest collection of 45 m (150 foot) class white pines in New England. The largest trees in Hartwick Pines State Parks are in the 45–48 m range (150-160ft). Cook Forest State Park has the largest collection of 45 m (150 foot) trees in the Northeast. At present one hundred ten trees have been measured to heights of 45 m (150 feet) or more. A private property in Claremont New Hampshire has about sixty white pines in the 45 m (150 ft) height class. Beyond the three mentioned properties, sites with 45 m (150 foot) trees typically have from one to fifteen, with most of the sites having less than ten.
Because the tree is somewhat resistant to fire, mature survivors are able to re-seed burned areas. In pure stands mature trees usually have no branches on the lower half of the trunk. In mixed forests, this dominant tree towers over all others, including the large hardwoods. It provides food and shelter for forest birds such as the Common Crossbill and small mammals such as squirrels. The Common Crossbill ( Loxia curvirostra) is a small Passerine Bird in the Finch family Fringillidae A squirrel is one of the many small or medium-sized Rodents in the family Sciuridae. The white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi) and White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola), an introduced fungus, can damage or kill these trees. White pine weevil or Engelmann spruce weevil ( Pissodes strobi) is the primary Weevil attacking and destroying White pines, described in White pine weevil or Engelmann spruce weevil ( Pissodes strobi) is the primary Weevil attacking and destroying White pines, described in Cronartium ribicola is a Species of rust fungi in the family Cronartiaceae that causes the disease white pine blister rust.
Mortality from Pine Blister in mature pine groves was often 50-80% during the early 20th Century. The fungus must spend part of its life cycle on alternate hosts: gooseberry or wild currant. Foresters reasoned correctly that if all the alternate host plants were removed that White Pine Blister Rust might be eliminated. A very determined campaign was mounted and all land owners in commercial pine growing regions were encouraged to uproot and kill all wild gooseberry and wild currant plant (Ling, 2003. Today wild currants are relatively rare plants in New England and planting wild currants or wild gooseberries is strongly discouraged or may even be illegal. As an alternative new strains of commercial currants have been developed which are highly resistant to White Pine Blister Rust. Planting these new strains is a good compromise and will keep you in good standing with your neighbors and the local authorities. Possibly due to hard work of the foresters mortality in white pines from rust is only about 3% today. But alas wild currant and gooseberry pies are items found only in memories (Lombard and Bofinger, 1999).
Uses and symbolism
During the age of sail, the tall trees with their high quality wood were valued for masts, and many trees were marked in colonial times with the broad arrow, reserving them for the British Royal Navy. Sailing ship is now used to refer to any large Wind -powered Vessel. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore known as the Senior Service) An unusual large, lone, white pine was found in colonial times, in coastal South Carolina along the Black River (far south of its normal range), and the king's mark was put upon this particular tree, giving rise to the town of Kingstree. South Carolina ( is a state in the southern region ( Deep South) of the United States of America. The Black River is a Blackwater river in South Carolina in the United States. Kingstree is a town in and the County seat of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The wood was often squared immediately after felling to fit in the holds of ships better (Ling, 2003).
The British soon built special barge-like vessels which could carry up to 50 pine trunks destined to be ship masts. A 100’ mast was about 3’X3’ at the butt and 2’X2’ at the top, while a 120’ mast was a giant 4’X4’ at the bottom and 30” at the top. The original masts on the US Constitution (Old Ironsides) were single trees but later they were laminated to better withstand cannon balls. During the American Revolution it became a great sport for the patriots to see how many of the King’s trees one could cut down and haul off (Nizalowski, 1997; Sloane, 1965).
Eastern White Pine is now widely grown in plantation forestry within its native area. Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco Forestry is the Art and Science of managing forests tree Plantations and related Natural resources. Several cultivars have been developed for garden use, many of them dwarf with very slow growth. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar A garden is a planned space usually outdoors set aside for the display cultivation and enjoyment of Plants and other forms of Nature. The species was imported into England by Captain George Weymouth in 1620, who planted it widely for a future timber crop, but the stand had little success because of White Pine Blister Rust disease. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland
Old growth pine in the Americas was a highly desired wood since huge, knot free, boards were the rule rather than the exception. Pine was common and easy to cut, thus many colonial homes used pine for paneling, floors and furniture. Pine was also a favorite tree of loggers since pine logs can still be processed in a lumber mill a year or more after being cut down. In contrast, most hardwood trees such as cherry, maple, oak, and ash must be cut into 1” thick boards immediately after felling or large cracks will develop in the trunk which can render the wood worthless (Ling, 2003).
Freshly cut white pine is creamy white or a pale straw color but pine wood which has aged many years tends to darken to a deep rich tan. Occasionally one can find light brown pine boards with unusual yellowish-golden or reddish brown hues. This is the famous pumpkin pine. It is generally thought that slow growing pines in virgin forests accumulate colored products in the heartwood but genetic factors and soil conditions may also play a role in rich color development (Nizalowski, 1997).
Although white pine was frequently used for flooring in buildings constructed before the Civil War, the wood is soft and consequently you will find cup shaped depressions from normal wear and tear on almost every old white pine floor. George Washington realized this would happen and wisely made his Mount Vernon floors out of yellow pine which is much harder (Ling, 2003).
Eastern White Pine is the provincial tree of Ontario and the state tree of Maine and Michigan and its "pine cone and tassel" is the "state flower" of Maine. Symbols of Canada's provinces and territories This List of US state trees includes official trees of the following states and U The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean Michigan ( is a Midwestern state of the United States of America. This is a list of US state flowers: See also List of US state trees Lists of U Sprigs of Eastern White Pine were worn as badges as a symbol of Vermont identity during the Vermont Republic and appears in a stained glass window at the Vermont State House, on the Flag of Vermont and the naval ensign of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Vermont ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The term Vermont Republic has been used by 20th and 21st century writers to describe the period of the U The Vermont State House, located in Montpelier Vermont, is the capitol and seat of Vermont General Assembly. The Flag of Vermont consists of the state's Coat of arms and motto. An ensign is a distinguishing Flag of a ship or a military unit or a distinguishing token emblem or badge such as a symbol of office The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is occasionally known as White Pine, Northern White Pine, or Soft Pine. It is also known as Weymouth Pine, especially in Britain. In addition, this tree is known to the Haudenosaunee Native Americans as the Tree of Great Peace. The Iroquois Confederacy (also known as the "League of Peace and Power" the "Five Nations" the "Six Nations" or the "People of the Longhouse For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States.
It is now naturalizing in the mountains of southern Poland and the Czech Republic having spread from ornamental trees. In Biology, naturalisation is the process when foreign or cultivated plants or animals have spread into the Wild, where they multiply by natural regeneration Ornamental plants are typically grown in the flower Garden or as House plants Most commonly they are grown for the display of their Flowers Other common
White Pine needles contain five times the amount of Vitamin C (by weight) of lemons and make an excellent tisane. Vitamin C or L-ascorbate is an Essential nutrient for a large number of higher primate species a small number of other Mammalian The lemon ( Citrus × limon) is a hybrid in cultivated wild plants An herbal tea, tisane, or ptisan is an Herbal Infusion made from anything other than the leaves of the Tea bush ( Camellia The cambium is edible. The vascular cambium is a Lateral meristem in the Vascular tissue of plants It is also a source of resveratrol. Resveratrol is a Phytoalexin produced naturally by several Plants when under attack by Pathogens such as Bacteria or Fungi Caterpillars of Lusk's Pinemoth (Coloradia luski) have been found to feed only on Eastern White Pines.
The name “Adirondack” is an Iroquois word which means tree-eater and referred to their neighbors (more commonly known as the Algonquians) who collected the inner bark during times of winter starvation. The white soft inner bark (cambial layer) was carefully separated from the hard, dark brown bark and dried. When pounded this product can be used as flour or added to stretch other starchy products. Linnaeus noted in the 1700’s that cattle and pigs fed pine bark bread grew well but he personally did not like the taste. The young staminate cones were stewed by the Ojibwe Indians with meat and were said to be sweet and not pitchy. In addition, the seeds are sweet and nutritious but not as good as those of some of the western nut pines (Fernald, 1943).
Pine resin has been used to waterproof baskets, pails and boats and the sap can be processed to make turpentine. In addition, the sap apparently has a number of quite efficient antimicrobials. The Chippewa even used it successfully to treat gangrenous wounds. Generally a wet pulp from the inner bark is applied to the wounds or pine tar can be mixed with beeswax or butter and used as a salve to prevent infection. Pine tar mixed with beer can be used to remove tapeworms (flat worms) or nematodes (round worms) and pine tar mixed with sulfur is useful to treat dandruff. Pine tar is produced by slowly burning pine roots, branches, or small trunks in a partially smothered flame (Erichsen-Brown, 1979).
 A board of P. strobus |
See also
References
- Erichsen-Brown,C. Hartwick Pines State Park is a 9672-acre (392 km² State Park in the U Interlochen State Park is a State park in Michigan. It is the State of Michigan's first officially recognized state park Lumberman's Monument is a monument dedicated to the workers of the early logging industry in Michigan 1979. Medicinal and Other Uses of North American Plants. Dover Publications, NY.
- Fernald,M. , A. Kinsey, and R. Rollins. 1943. Edible Wild Plants. Harper & Row, NY.
- Ling, H. 2003. The Eastern White Pine. Native Plant Society of NJ Newsletter Winter 2003 pp 2-3.
- Lombard K. and J. Bofinger. 1999. White Pine Blister Rust. NH Div. of Forests and Lands.
- Nizalowski, E. 1997. The mystery of the Pumpkin Pine. Newark Valley Historical Society, Newark, NY.
- Sloane, E. 1965. A Reverence for Wood. Balantine Books, NY.
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus strobus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Gymnosperm Database: Pinus strobus
- Arboretum de Villardebelle - cone photo
- Eastern Native Tree Society - Boogerman Pine photo gallery
- Flora of North America: Pinus strobus
- Flora of N.Amer-RangeMap: Pinus strobus
- The Monday Garden: The Eastern White Pine
- Pinus strobus images at bioimages.vanderbilt.edu
- Netstate.com Maine State Flower
External links
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