Pinus strobus
Kenneth Sytsma, Wisconsin
State Herbarium Eastern White Pine is the
largest pine tree in Virginia. It grows over 100 feet and
has a straight trunk
up to four feet wide. Like all pine trees, this
tree is evergreen,
so it keeps its leaves (needles)
year-round. Pine needles are in small clumps of five, and
each one grows up to five inches long. Eastern White Pine has
small yellow cones as flowers. The fruits of this tree are
large brown pine cones,
four to eight inches long. Each cone has two small
seeds
in it. OPLIN The bark
of Eastern White Pine is gray and smooth when the tree is
young, and becomes rougher and furrowed (deep wrinkles) as
it gets older. Eastern White Pine grows
alongside of oaks, hickories, Virginia Pine, Loblolly Pine,
American Elm, American Beech, maples, Yellow Poplar,
Flowering Dogwood, and Black Cherry, among other
trees. Some other plants which
commonly grown beneath Eastern White Pine include: Highbush
Blueberry, Sweetfern, Bracken Fern, clubmosses, Broom Sedge,
Partridgeberry, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and Wild
Sarsparilla. Eastern White Pine often
grows in fierce competition
with Red Maple, American Beech and Southern Red
Oak. Many fungi
are parasites
of this tree, including Honey Mushroom, Golden Spreading
Polypore, Bleeding Conifer Parchment, and Dye
Polypore. Young Eastern White Pine
are eaten by White-tailed Deer and Eastern
Cottontails. Eastern Cottontails also
eat the bark from larger trees, as do Beaver. Squirrels, Eastern
Chipmunks, voles, and mice eat pine needles, as well as
seeds. Many birds eat Eastern
White Pine seeds, including Black-capped Chickadee, Pine
Warbler, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and White-breasted
Nuthatch. Many species of birds
also nest in Eastern White Pine. They are a favorite nest
site of American Bald Eagles. Cavity
dwellers, such as woodpeckers, squirrels, and Black-capped
Chickadees live in holes of Eastern White Pine. This tree can live over
400 years.
