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OPLIN |
Dr. Michael F. Gross, Georgian Court College |
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Virginia Pine are small to medium-sized pine trees, growing up to 60 feet. They have long, spreading branches and a trunk up to one and a half feet across. Virginia Pine have reddish-brown bark. Needles are short, only one-and-a-half to three inches long. Flowers are small yellow cylinders at the end of a branch. Pine cones are small and oval-shaped, up to two-and-a-half inches long. Small seeds come from the cones. Virginia Pine lay shallow roots and must have plenty of sun to survive. They eventually get pushed out by larger trees. |
Trees of Alabama and the Southeast, Photographer: Mike Hogan |
|
OPLIN |
Trees of Alabama
and the Southeast, Photographer: Mike
Hogan Virginia Pines
are good pioneer
plants, meaning they are some of the first trees to
take over a field.
They can be considered a shrub
when they are young. They grow very
fast. Virginia Pine
can be found growning with other trees, such as
White Oak, Southern Red Oak, Red Maple, hickories,
Sweetgum, Eastern White Pine, Eastern Redcedar, and
Loblolly Pine. Virginia Pine
seeds are consumed by many birds and small
mammals.
These animals help spread the seeds by carrying
them to new places. Twigs
and needles are eaten by White-tailed Deer. Young
Virginia Pines are good cover
for animals, such as rabbits. Meadow Voles can
kill a small tree by eating bark and
girdling
(taking bark off all the way around the tree)
it. Virginia Pines
are a favorite of woodpeckers, because of the soft
wood in older trees. Many species of
fungi
live symbiotically
with this tree. The fungi grow on the roots of
Virginia Pine. They absorb nutrients
from the tree, and they allow other nutrients to be
absorbed by the tree which it otherwise wouldn't
get. |
