Flora of North America species comparison

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Pinus echinata

shortleaf pine
Habit Trees to 40m; trunk to 1.2m diam., straight; crown rounded to conic.
Bark

red-brown, scaly-plated, plates with evident resin pockets.
Branches

spreading-ascending; 2-year-old branchlets slender (ca. 5mm or less), greenish brown to red-brown, often glaucous, aging red-brown to gray, roughened and cracking below leafy portion.
Buds

ovoid to cylindric, red-brown, 0.5–0.7(–1)cm, resinous.
Leaves

2(–3) per fascicle, spreading-ascending, persistent 3–5 years, (5–)7–11(–13)cm × ca. 1mm, straight, slightly twisted, gray- to yellow-green, all surfaces with fine stomatal lines, margins finely serrulate, apex abruptly acute;

sheath 0.5–1(–1.5)cm, base persistent.
Pollen cones

cylindric, 15–20mm, yellow- to pale purple-green.
Seed(s)

cones maturing in 2 years, semipersistent, solitary or clustered, spreading, symmetric, lanceoloid or narrowly ovoid before opening, ovoid-conic when open, 4–6(–7)cm, red-brown, aging gray, nearly sessile or on stalks to 1cm, scales lacking contrasting dark border on adaxial surfaces distally;

umbo central, with elongate to short, stout, sharp prickle.
2n

=24.

Pinus echinata
Habitat Uplands, dry forests
Elevation 200–610m (700–2000ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; DE; FL; GA; IL; KY; LA; MD; MO; MS; NC; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Although Pinus echinata is highly valued for timber and pulpwood, it is afflicted by root rot. It hybridizes with P. taeda, the pine most commonly associated with it.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Pinus
Sibling taxa
P. albicaulis, P. aristata, P. attenuata, P. balfouriana, P. banksiana, P. cembroides, P. clausa, P. contorta, P. coulteri, P. edulis, P. elliottii, P. engelmannii, P. flexilis, P. glabra, P. jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. monticola, P. muricata, P. palustris, P. ponderosa, P. pungens, P. quadrifolia, P. radiata, P. resinosa, P. rigida, P. sabiniana, P. serotina, P. strobiformis, P. strobus, P. sylvestris, P. taeda, P. torreyana, P. virginiana, P. washoensis
Name authority Miller: Gard. Dict., ed. 8 Pinus no. 12. (1768)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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