White Pine

Order: Pinales

Family: PInaceae

Genus: Pinus

Species: P. stobus

Identifying Characteristics:

-Leaves: needles that are in bundles of five. Flexible, bluish-green, finely serrated, and 5-13 cm long

-Cones: Slender, 8-16 cm long and 4-5 cm wide when open, they have scales with a rounded apex and slightly reflexed tip.

- Height: 160 -188 ft (50 - 57 meters)

- Bark: darkening and thickening as tree ages, smooth and gray on young growth, becoming gray-brown, deeply furrowed with broad ridges of irregularly rectangular, purple-tinged scaly plates

Special Adaptations:

- White Pines prefer well-drained soil and cool, humid climates, but also grow in boggy areas and rocky highlands.

- Dominates over all other trees in a mixed forest

- It provides food and shelter for forest birds and small mammals

- Moderately fire resistant; mature trees survive most surface fires due to thick bark, branch-free trunks, and a moderately deep rooting habit. (Younger trees are not as fire resistant.) Needles have relatively low resin content so are not highly flammable