Pinus virginiana
Pinus palustris
Jersey pine, scrub pine, Virginia pine
longleaf pine
gray-brown with irregular, scaly-plated ridges, on upper sections of trunk reddish, scaly.
orange-brown, with coarse, rectangular, scaly plates.
spreading-ascending to spreading-descending;
twigs slender, red- or purple-tinged, often glaucous, aging red-brown to gray, rough.
spreading-descending, upcurved at tips;
twigs stout (to 2cm thick), orange-brown, aging darker brown, rough.
ovoid to cylindric, red-brown, 0.6–1cm, resinous or not resinous;
scale margins white-fringed.
ovoid, silvery white, 3–4cm;
scales narrow, margins fringed.
2 per fascicle, spreading or ascending, persisting 3–4 years, 2–8cm × 1–1.5mm, strongly twisted, deep to pale yellow-green, all surfaces with inconspicuous stomatal lines, margins serrulate, apex narrowly acute;
sheath 0.4–1cm, base persistent.
(2)–3 per fascicle, spreading-recurved, persisting 2 years, 20–45cm × ca. 1.5mm, slightly twisted, lustrous yellow-green, all surfaces with fine stomatal lines, margins finely serrulate, apex abruptly acute to acuminate;
sheath 2–2.5(–3)cm, base persistent.
ellipsoid-cylindric, 10–20mm, red-brown or yellow.
cylindric, 30–80mm, purplish.
cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds soon thereafter, persisting to 5 years, symmetric, lance-ovoid or lanceoloid before opening, ovoid when open, 3–7(–8)cm, dull red-brown, nearly sessile or on stalks to 1cm, scales rigid, with strong purple-red or purple-brown border on adaxial surface distally;
apophyses slightly thickened, slightly elongate;
umbo central, low-pyramidal, with slender, stiff prickle.
cones maturing in 2 years, quickly shedding seeds and falling, solitary or paired toward branchlet tips, symmetric, lanceoloid before opening, ovoid-cylindric when open, 15–25cm, dull brown, sessile (rarely short-stalked);
apophyses dull, slightly thickened, slightly raised, nearly rhombic, strongly cross-keeled;
umbo central, broadly triangular, with short, stiff, reflexed prickle.
=24.
=24.
Pinus virginiana
Pinus palustris
Pinus virginiana is weedy and fire successional and often forms large stands. It is mostly too small and too profusely branched to be valued except as pulpwood.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Pinus palustris is fire successional, with a deep taproot and a definite grass stage. It is a valued species for lumber and pulpwood and was once important for naval stores (e.g., turpentine, pine oil, tar, pitch). It is fast disappearing over much of its natural range, partly through overharvesting but especially because of difficulties in adapting it to current plantation and management techniques.
Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) is the state tree of North Carolina.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
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USDA Plants Database
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