''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

. It is native to eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuitable for growth, such as acidic, sandy, and low-nutrient soils.

Description

The pitch pine is irregular in shape, but grows to ). Branches are usually twisted, and it does a poor job at self-pruning. The needles are in fascicles (bundles) of three, about in length, and are stout (over broad) and often slightly twisted. The cones are long and oval, with prickles on the scales. Trunks are usually straight with a slight curve, covered in large, thick, irregular plates of bark. Pitch pine has an exceptionally high regenerative ability; if the main trunk is cut or damaged by fire, it can re-sprout using

epicormic shoot An epicormic shoot is a Shoot (botany), shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the Bark (botany), bark of a Trunk (botany), trunk, plant stem, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie Dormancy, dormant beneath the bark, ...

s. This is one of its many adaptations to fire, which also include a thick bark to protect the sensitive cambium layer from heat. Burnt pitch pines often form stunted, twisted trees with multiple trunks as a result of the resprouting. This characteristic makes it a popular species for

bonsai Bonsai (; , ) is the Japanese art of Horticulture, growing and shaping miniature trees in containers, with a long documented history of influences and native Japanese development over a thousand years, and with unique aesthetics, cultural hist ...

. Pitch pine is rapid-growing when young, gaining around one foot of height per year under optimal conditions, until growth slows at 50–60 years. By 90 years of age, the amount of annual height gain is minimal. Open-growth trees begin bearing cones in as little as three years, with shade-inhabiting pines taking a few years longer. Cones take two years to mature. Seed dispersal occurs over the fall and winter, and trees cannot self-pollinate. The lifespan of a pitch pine is about 200 years or longer. Pitch Pine as Bonsai

Taxonomy

It was given its scientific name, ''Pinus rigida'', by British botanist

Philip Miller Philip Miller Royal Society, FRS (1691 – 18 December 1771) was an English botany, botanist and gardener of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden for nearly 50 years from 1722, and wrote the highly popular ...

. It belongs to the family Pinaceae and the subgenus ''

Pinus A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...

'' (formerly ''Diploxylon''), along with other hard pines.

Distribution and habitat

Pitch pine is found mainly in the southern areas of the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, from coastal

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and northern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. A few stands occur in southern

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

and

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, mostly in two pockets along the St. Lawrence River. It is known as a pioneer species and is often the first tree to vegetate a site after it has been cleared away. It is a climax vegetation type in extreme conditions, but in most cases it is replaced by oaks and other hardwoods. This pine occupies a variety of habitats, from dry, acidic sandy uplands to swampy lowlands, and can survive in very poor conditions. It is the primary tree of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion.

Ecology

Pitch pines provide habitat and food for many wildlife species. They are used for cover and nesting by birds such as the pine warbler,

wild turkey The wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') is an upland game bird native to North America, one of two extant species of Turkey (bird), turkey and the heaviest member of the order Galliformes. It is the ancestor to the domestic turkey (''M. g. dom ...

red-cockaded woodpecker The red-cockaded woodpecker (''Leuconotopicus borealis'') is a woodpecker endemic to the southeastern United States. It is a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Description The red-cockaded woodpecker is small- to mi ...

, great-crested flycatcher, blue jay,

black-capped chickadee The black-capped chickadee (''Poecile atricapillus'') is a small, nonmigratory, North American passerine bird that lives in deciduous and mixed forests. It is a member of the Paridae family (biology), family, also known as tits. It has a distin ...

, black-and-white warbler, Nashville warbler, and chestnut-sided warbler. Deer consume seedlings and new sprouts, and small mammals and birds eat the seeds. This species occasionally hybridizes with other pine species, such as loblolly pine (''

Pinus taeda ''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 pine. ...

''), shortleaf pine (''

Pinus echinata The shortleaf pine or ''Pinus echinata'' is a species of coniferous tree endemic to the United States. The shortleaf pine is sometimes referred to as the "old field", "spruce", "rosemary", "yellow", "two-leaf" and "heart" pine. The common name " ...

''), and pond pine ('' Pinus serotina''); the last is treated as a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of pitch pine by some

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

Uses

Because it frequently grows multiple or crooked trunks, pitch pine is not a major timber tree, nor is it as fast-growing as other eastern American pines. However, it grows well on unfavorable sites. In the past, it was a major source of pitch and timber for ship building, mine timbers, and railroad ties because the wood's high resin content preserves it from decay. As such, it has also been used for elaborate wood constructions, e. g. radio towers. Pitch pine is currently used mainly for rough construction, pulp, crating, and fuel. However, due to its uneven growth, quantities of high quality can be difficult to obtain, and long lengths of pitch pine can be very costly. Archaeology indicates that the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

, Shinnecock, and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

all utilized pitch pine. The Iroquois used the pitch to treat rheumatism, burns, cuts, and boils. Pitch also worked as a laxative. A pitch pine poultice was used by both the Iroquois and the Shinnecock to open boils and to treat abscesses. The Cherokee used pitch pine wood in canoe construction and for decorative carvings. Pitch pine is known to cross with pond loblolly and shortleaf pines. One of those crosses is the pitlolly pine (pinus x rigitaeda), a natural hybrid between the loblolly pine and the pitch pine. This hybrid combines the tall size of the loblolly pine and the cold- hardiness of the pitch pine. This hybrid was used as substitute of loblolly pine and has been extensively planted in South Korea.

Gallery

2024-02-26 13 21 26 Bark and needles on a Pitch Pine along Interstate 295 in Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey.jpg, Bark and trunk sprout, a defining characteristic of the species Pinus rigida.JPG, Pollen cones Image:2013-05-10 09 02 57 Pitch Pine new growth and pollen cones along the Batona Trail in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, New Jersey.jpg, New growth and pollen cones Image:Pinus rigida cone Poland.jpg, Cone and needles Pitch pine in Quogue (92734p).jpg, Pitch pine on Long Island in New York, USA File:2014-08-29 11 51 25 View north-northeast from the fire tower on Apple Pie Hill in Wharton State Forest, Tabernacle Township, New Jersey.JPG, View north from a fire tower on Apple Pie Hill in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. The vast pine forest is almost entirely made up of ''Pinus rigida''. Image:Pitch pine cones exposed to fire.jpg, A pitch pine cone experimentally exposed to fire by Saint Michael's College scientists (Vermont; USA). The middle photograph shows the cone right after exposure to a bunsen burner flame. The right hand photograph was taken 24 hours later. File:2024-09-22 15 57 03 A Pitch Pine covered in trunk sprouds within a heavily burned section of Wharton State Forest in Washington Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.jpg, Pitch Pine with heavy growth of trunk sprouts after a severe wildfire.

References

{{Authority control rigida

Pinus rigida ''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 ...

Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of Massachusetts

Garden plants of North America Plants used in bonsai

Taxa named by Philip Miller