American Hard Pines

Hard pines are also called yellow pines, or pitch pines. Their wood is heavy, dark, resinous, and usually strong and durable. There are usually two or three needles to a fascicle. Most hard pines have barbed cones.

Three-needled Hard Pines

are found mostly in western North America. They include:

Ponderosa, or Western Yellow, Pine,

the most important timber pine in the West. The tree may reach a height of 200 feet (60 m). Its yellow-green needles are 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 cm) long, and its cones are 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) long. It is widely distributed from British Columbia to Mexico, occurring in every state west of the Great Plains. It is the state tree of Montana.

The ponderosa pine is P. ponderosa.

Monterey Pine,

a tree often cultivated for the beauty of its brilliant, deep-green foliage. It is 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) in height. A few varieties are two-needled. The needles are 3 1/2 to 6 inches (9 to 15 cm) long, and the cones 2 to 5 inches (5 to 12.5 cm) long. This pine is native to central California only, but has been introduced into other parts of the United States, and is cultivated in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

The Monterey pine is P. radiata.

Slash Pine,

an important timber tree of the South. It also yields resin of high quality for making turpentine. It is 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 m) tall. The dark-green needles are 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) long, and the cones are 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) long. Slash pines often grow in slashes—open areas created by logging or forest fires. The tree is found from eastern Louisiana eastward to Florida and the West Indies, and in Central America. It is the state tree of Alabama, where it is called Southern pine.

The slash pine is P. elliottii.

Longleaf Pine,

also an important Southern timber tree and source of turpentine. It is 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 m) tall. Its dark-green needles are 8 to 18 inches (20 to 45 cm) long, and its cones are 5 to 10 inches (12.5 to 25 cm) long. It is found on coastal plains from Virginia to Florida, and west to Texas. Its wood is heavy and tough, and yellowish in color.

The longleaf pine is P. palustris.

Loblolly Pine, or Old-field Pine,

an important timber tree and a major source of wood pulp and paper products. The tree is about 100 feet (30 m) tall, with stiff, twisted, pale-green needles 5 to 9 inches (12.5 to 22.5 cm) long. Its cones are 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm) long. It grows on coastal plains—often in moist areas called loblollies —from New Jersey to Florida, and west to Texas.

The loblolly pine is P. taeda.

Pitch Pine,

a common name given to all hard pines, but to two species in particular: (1) an eastern pine found from Maine to Georgia; and (2) a California pine, also called Coulter pine. The eastern pitch pine is 50 to 60 feet (15 to 18 m) tall, with yellow-green needles 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 12.5 cm) long, and cones 1 to 1 1/2 inches (2.5 to 4 cm) long. The Coulter pine is about the same height, with blue-green needles 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) long, and cones 10 to 14 inches (25 to 35 cm) long. Coulter pine seeds are edible.

The eastern pitch pine is P. rigida; the Coulter, P. coulteri.

Two-needled Hard Pines

are found mostly in eastern North America. They include:

Red Pine, or Norway Pine,

a tree valued for its timber and as an ornamental. Its straight reddish-brown trunk is 70 to 100 feet (21 to 30 m) high. It has dark-green needles 5 to 6 inches (12.5 to 15 cm) long. Its 2-inch (5-cm) cones are not barbed. This pine grows from southeastern Canada to Pennsylvania, and through the Great Lakes region to Minnesota. It is the state tree of Minnesota.

The red pine is P. resinosa.

Shortleaf Pine, or Southern Yellow Pine,

another important timber and ornamental tree. It is 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 m) tall, with dark blue-green needles 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 12.5 cm) long, and cones 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches (4 to 6.5 cm) long. It is found in a wide belt from Long Island south and west to Oklahoma and Texas. It is the state tree of Arkansas.

The shortleaf pine is P. echinata.

Lodgepole Pine,

a western pine 70 to 150 feet (21 to 45 m) tall. In dense forests its trunk grows straight and tapering; it was once used by Indians to support their tepees or lodges. In far northern or rocky coastal regions, it is stunted and twisted, and is sometimes called scrub pine. This pine has yellow-green needles 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.5 cm) long, and cones 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) long. It grows in Pacific coastal regions and the Rocky Mountains from Alaska to Lower California.

The lodgepole pine is P. contorta.