''Pinus serotina'', the pond pine, marsh pine or pocosin pine, is a

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that ar ...

found along the Southeastern portion of the

Atlantic coastal plain The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

of the United States, from southern

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...

south to

Florida Florida is a U.S. state, state located in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia (U.S. state), Geo ...

and west to southern

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,76 ...

. This

often has a crooked growth pattern and an irregular top and grows up to high, rarely to . The needles are in bundles of three or four, and long. The almost round cones are long with small prickles on the scales. Its cones are usually

serotinous Serotiny in botany simply means 'following' or 'later'. In the case of serotinous flowers, it means flowers which grow following the growth of leaves, or even more simply, flowering later in the season than is customary with allied species. Havi ...

, requiring fire to open. The pond pine is found in wet habitats near ponds, bays, swamps, and

pocosin A pocosin is a type of palustrine wetland with deep, acidic, sandy, peat soils. Groundwater saturates the soil except during brief seasonal dry spells and during prolonged droughts. Pocosin soils are nutrient-deficient (oligotrophic), especiall ...

s. Often found among long leaf pines due to their high flammability and the pond pines need for fire to germinate. The species name ''serotina'' is derived from the persistently unopened cones that may remain closed for several years before they release their seeds; the opening is often in response to forest fires. At the north end of its range, it intergrades and hybridizes with

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

(''P. rigida''); it is distinguished from that species by the longer needles and on average slightly larger cones. Some botanists treat pond pine as a subspecies of pitch pine. File:PondPineCone.wmg.jpg, Pond pine cones are smaller and rounder than

loblolly pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pi ...

cones. File:PondPineNeedles.wmg.jpg, Unlike loblolly pines, pond pines have the ability to grow needles directly from the trunk.Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
''Pond Pine (Pinus serotina)''
/ref>

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2703233 serotina Trees of the Southeastern United States Trees of the Northeastern United States Least concern flora of the United States Trees of the United States