THE PITCH PINE 



THE Pitch Pine is in every way a less valuable and a less attractive tree than the 

 White Pine. As seen at a distance it has a much coarser appearance, a fact 

 which is due to its larger leaves that are arranged in groups of threes along much 

 thicker branches. The general color of the foliage is also lighter. As seen near at hand the 

 leaves show narrow rows of white spots along the sides. The bark of the young branches 

 is yellow brown, with no pubescent covering. The cones are large, and very much broader 

 than those of the White Pine, the scales being armed with a stout, sharp spine at the 

 middle of the outer margin. The cones remain upon the trees for several years after the 

 winged seeds have been shed, so that one of the easiest ways to recognize the tree is to 

 look for these broad, short cones hanging from the older branches. 



The Pitch Pine seldom attains a height of more than forty or fifty feet, although 

 occasionally taller specimens are found. In older trees many of the branches are likely 

 to be wanting, so that the appearance lacks symmetry and grace. The bark of the trunk 

 is thickly furrowed and more or less covered with rather large scales. 



The Pitch Pine is remarkable for the large amount of resin produced upon the buds 

 and branches. This fact doubtless led to the use of its common name as well as to the 

 name Torch Pine, by which it is sometimes known. It is essentially a tree of sandy regions 

 and occurs from New Brunswick to Ontario, south to Virginia and Kentucky and west to 

 Ohio. It has not the advantages for planting, either in forestry or in landscape gardening, 

 possessed by the W T hite Pine. 



The flowers of the Pitch Pine appear early in summer, the pollen-bearing blossoms 

 being produced in great abundance at the base of the new season's growth. They are of 

 a general reddish-yellow color. The seed-bearing flowers are produced along the sides of 

 the new season's twigs, being arranged either singly or in clusters of two or more. The 

 pollen-bearing flowers soon drop off, while the others slowly develop into cones, reaching 

 maturity only at the end of the second season. 



In the Pacific coast region from Oregon southward, an interesting pine somewhat 

 similar to our eastern Pitch Pine occurs. It is called the Knob-cone Pine (Pinus 

 attenuata), and is especially remarkable for the cones that remain upon the tree 

 unopened for many years, even becoming imbedded in the branch without scattering 

 the seeds. When the tree dies, or a fire sweeps through the forest, the seeds may be 

 set free to start a new generation of trees. 



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