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WHITE
PINE Pinus
Strobus
Common
Names & Range
Description
Native
American Use
Pine
Lore
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Description:
The White Pine is a large, native,
evergreen tree that produces cones
and grows fast. In 40 years, it
can grow to be 60 feet tall. The
White Pine is a respected
"grandfather" tree that
can reach 450 years of age!
The needles are 2 1/2 to 5 inches
long and the winged seeds are
about 8/10 of an inch. The roots
are wide-reaching and moderately
deep without a distinct taproot. |
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This
tree provides food and habitat for many
species of wildlife. Songbirds and small
mammals eat the seeds. Snowshoe hares,
white-tailed deer and cottontails browse
the foliage and the bark is eaten by
various mammals. Pocket gophers graze
the roots of seedlings and young trees.
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The
mighty Bald Eagle builds a nest in
white pine, usually at a main
branch below the crown top. |
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| The
trees, especially those with broken
tops, make valuable homes for
cavity-nesting wildlife. Young black
bear cubs use large white pine trees
to climb to safety. In Minnesota,
black bear mothers and cubs spent more
than 95 percent of the time in April
and May within 600 feet of either a
large white pine or an eastern
hemlock. |
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A
valuable timber species in the
eastern United States and
Canada. The soft wood is of
medium strength, easily worked
and stains and finishes
well. |
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| It
is used for doors, moldings, trim,
siding, paneling, cabinets and
furniture. |
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White
pine begins producing cones when
5 to 10 years old, but good seed
production does not occur until
trees are at least 20 to 30
years old. |
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| Good
seed years occur every 3 to 5 years,
with some seed produced in intervening
years. Dispersed primarily by wind,
seeds will travel 200 feet within a
stand and more than 700 feet in the
open. |
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Animals
also disperse seeds. Gray
squirrel seed caches were
responsible for white pine
reproduction under red oak
stands in south New
Hampshire. |
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| White-footed
mice and red-backed voles bury caches
containing 20 to 30 pine seeds beneath
the litter but on top of the mineral
soil. Caches that escape re-visitation
and decimation produce
seedlings. Favorable seedbeds
include moist mineral soil, mosses and
short grass cover of light to medium
density. Dry mineral soil, pine
litter, lichen and very thin or very
thick grass covers are poor seedbeds
in full light but adequate in shade.
The seedlings need at least 20 percent
of full light for survival. They
achieve maximum height growth in 45
percent of full light. Early growth is
slow, but between 10 and 20 years of
age, the average annual height growth
is about 16 inches per year. |
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WHITE
PINE Pinus
Strobus
Common
Names & Range
Description
Native
American Use
Pine
Lore
|
