Virginia Pine - Pinus virginiana

Pinaceae - Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 74
Virginia Pine Tree
Pinus virginiana

Spring

Virginia Pine Tree

Virginia Pine Tree

This  tree has two needles (1.5- 2.5 inches long) per bundle, the bark is in plates that are four times as long as broad. Most of the time, there are many once-alive branches going up the bark that have not fallen off.   Notice the young cones. They are called the pollen cones.

Male Pollen cones, Virginia Pine

Male pollen cones.  Virginia Pine.

This Virginia Pine tree lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens. www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org

Summer

The Virginia Pine Tree

The Virginia Pine tree.
  This tree lives at Tremont in the Smoky Mountain National Park.
These needles are twisted twice.

Fall 

Virginia Pine Tree

Virginia Pine Tree

This Virginia Pine tree lives at the Botanical Gardens at Asheville.

Winter

The Virginia Pine Tree

Winter ID Tips:
needles: 2 needles per bundle, twisted yet flexible
bark: orange and brown and looks like plates are drawn in all the way up
cones: slender, sharp prickle

This Virginia Pine lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens in Asheville, North Carolina.  http://www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org/

Virginia Pine Tree

There are 2 needles per bundle that are flexible and twisted. The needles are 1.5-3 inches long; they are almost stalkless and remain attached for several years.

The tree is usually 40-70 feet tall and 12-18 inches in diameter.

This tree looks scrubby or shaggy, that is why it is nicknamed, Scrub Pine. The branches on this pine may extend all the way to the ground, they remain on the trunk even when they no longer have green needles.

The Champion Virginia Pine Trees

The champion Virginia Pine Tree lives in Caroline County, Virginia. It is 108 feet high and has a circumference of 84 inches. You can read more at:
http://www.americanforests.org/big-trees/virginia-pine-pinus-virginiana/

My favorite Virginia Pine Tree

My favorite Virginia Pine tree lives at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville.
For the love of the trees,
Becky

from my journal...

Loblolly Pine - Pinus taeda

Pinus -Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 73
Loblolly Pine Tree
Pinus taeda

Spring

The Loblolly Pine Tree - Pinus taeda

The Loblolly Pine Tree - Pinus taeda

 The Loblolly Pine Tree - Pinus taeda

Summer

To be added, please check back.

Fall 

To be added, please check back.

Winter

The Loblolly Pine Tree

This Loblolly Pine Tree lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.  http://www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org/

The Loblolly Pine Tree

You can identify this tree by it's needles.  There will be 3 to a bundle and they will be 6-9 inches long.  The needles will be stiff and dark green.  They will be more straight then twisted like some pine needles.  The pine cone will be about the 4-6 inches long.  These cones will have sharp prickles.

These pine trees can grow to be very tall - up to 100 feet;  they seem to take on that haunted look in the horizon when the sunsets behind them.

The Champion Loblolly Pine Trees

To be added, please check back.

My favorite Loblolly Pine Tree

My favorite Loblolly Pine tree lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.
For the love of the trees,
Becky

from my journal...

Eastern White Pine - Pinus strobus

Pinaceae - Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 72
Eastern White Pine Tree
Pinus strobus

Spring

The Colors of the White Pine in April

The White Pine - Pinus strobus L.

The male cones will be obvious during the spring. Pollen blows off of these male cones with the slightest breeze or touch of the limb. You can be covered in pollen in no time and so can your car and house. In fact, anything near a white pine tree at this time of year can be yellow in no time flat.

The White Pine Tree is a tree in the The Healing Trees Project. This project, and I quote from the website, www.livingmemorialsproject.net "invokes the resonating power of trees to bring people together and create lasting, living memorials to the victims of terrorism, their families, communities, and the nation. The purpose of the project is to encourage us all to consider trees in new and creative ways, invite them into our communities, and appreciate their contributions to the enrichment of our lives. "

The White Pine tree demonstrates "resilience through challenging climatic circumstances, Pines remind us of our own ability to weather climatic shifts and to continue to work to secure the well-being of future generations, through difficult times. The Trees of Resilience are highly valued as medicinals by the Native Americans, Chinese and European cultures, bringing qualities of clarity and peace."

Summer

The White Pine Tree

The White Pine is the most beautiful to me in the Summer. So alive and full. There are pine cones growing on the tree now.

Many small mammals and birds depend on the White Pine tree for food feeding on the seeds, bark and needles.  Bears and deer depend on the White Pine for shelter.  Eagles use the tallest top branches for perches to view the land and sky for miles.  White Pines can live for up to 400 plus years and grow to a height of over 100 feet.

Native Americans ate the inner bark of White Pine as one of their main winter foods. During the first winter in the "New World", many colonists died of scurvy, lack of vitamin C. Native Americans offered them pine needle tea. Pine needles manufacture large amounts of vitamins A and C. A cupful of strong pine needle tea has more vitamin C than the average lemon.
Put a handful of  needles in hot water and steep for about 10 minutes. Strain, and enjoy. No need to buy vitamin C tablets, just drink your pine tree tea. yummm.

Fall 

White Pine Tree

Winter

The White Pine Tree

This Pine Tree has needles that grow in groups of five. The cones are long, 4-8 inches. They are slender, open, and thornless. The Branches grow circularly around the trunk at distinct intervals. The lower limbs will fall off and this is called "self grooming".

This tree grows at elevations up to 5,000 feet. This is a fast-growing tree and can live 400 years or more. The White Pine is the state tree of Maine. In the 1700' and 1800's many sailing ships used the trunks of the White Pine for their sailing masts.

One famous White Pine was a pine tree in Wisconsin named the General MacArthur. This tree was 140 feet high with a circumference of 17 feet. The tree was over 400 years old when it burned to the ground after being struck by lightening.

Reflection, Resilience, Clarity, Peace

This White Pine Tree lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens.  www.ashevillebotanicalgardens.org

The Champion Eastern White Pine Trees

The Champion Eastern White Pine tree is in Massachusetts. It is 171 feet tall and has a girth of 12 feet. You can read more at http://www.americanforests.org/blog/saheda-profile-great-new-england-white-pine/

My favorite Eastern White Pine Tree

My favorite Eastern White Pine lives at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville.
For the love of the trees,
Becky

from my journal

Pitch Pine - Pinus rigida

 Pinaceae - Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 71
Pitch Pine Tree
Pinus rigida

Spring

young fertile twig, pitch pine

The gap above the cone may have borne male cones in same year (2011). Milton, MA

Photo by ophis

expanding male cones, pitch pine

Forming collar at base of 1st year twig. Milton, MA 5/19/13

Photo by ophis

Summer

Fall 

coming soon...please check back.

Winter

The Champion Pitch Pine Trees

The Champion American Forest Pitch Pine Tree lives in Merrimack, New Hampshire.  It is 108 feet tall and has a circumference of 108 inches.
http://www.americanforests.org/big-trees/pitch-pine-pinus-rigida-2/

My favorite Pitch Pine Tree

My favorite Pitch Pine Tree lives at the Botanical Gardens of Asheville.
For the love of the trees,
Becky

Table Mountain Pine - Pinus pungens

Pinaceae - Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 70
Table Mountain Pine Tree
Pinus pungens

Spring

Table Mountain Pine

This Table Mountain Pine tree lives in Asheville, North Carolina.  This tree is filled with young cones.

Table Mountain Pine

Summer

I will collect this image very soon.  Please check back.

Fall 

Table Mountain Pine Tree

Table Mountain Pine Tree

This tree lives in West Virginia at Pipestem State Park.  I asked the naturalist there, Jim Phillips, where I could find the Table Mountain Pine Tree at Pipestem State Park. Jim told me that to find this tree I will need to hike down into the gorge for 3/4 of a mile. He told me that it is foggy and cool here in the mornings and the hike down is pretty steep.  I really wanted to find it, so I did get up early the next morning and hiked down into the gorge to photograph this tree.  I was rewarded with a colorful morning.  There were thousands of red and orange and yellow leaves glowing in the morning sunlight after the fog rose out of the gorge.

This park is an incredible park to see Fall leaf color.

Winter

The Table Mountain Pine - Pinus pungens

This tree can be identified by having two needles per bundle which are twisted and stiff. The cones grow in clusters of two or more. The cones have sharp spines, which is their distinguishing characteristic feature. The cones stay on the tree. Sometimes the cones stay on the tree for up to 20 years. The cones point backwards or down. The bark is dark brown and thick; it looks divided into scaly plates.

This tree grows only in the southern Appalachians. It can live up to 200 years. The tree can grow up to 50 feet high and 18 inches in diameter.

Squirrels eat the seeds of the table mountain pine. Because squirrels are smart enough to get to the seeds from the sharply spiked cones, this tree has also been named Squirrel pine. The Table Mountain pine is an important soil protector keeping erosion and runoff from the rugged landscapes in which it thrives to a minimum.

Trees that grow on cliffs and rock outcrops usually grow in picturesque and gnarly shapes. The botanist Andre Michaux named this tree after Table Mountain in North Carolina, where he first encountered it in 1794.

This tree was the lonesome pine of the book, "The Lonesome Pine".

The Champion Table Mountain Pine Trees

The American Forest Champion Table Mountain Pine tree lives in Green Ridge State Forest in Maryland.  It is 90 feet tall and has a circumference of 69 inches.  Its crown spread is 39 feet.
http://www.americanforests.org/big-trees/table-mountain-pine-pinus-pungens-2/

The North Carolina State Champion Tree lives in Stokes County, North Carolina.  It is 120 feet high and has a circumference of 104 inches.  Its crown spread is 41 feet.
http://ncforestservice.gov/urban/big_species_results.asp

My favorite Table Mountain Pine Tree

I am pondering my favorite Table Mountain Pine Tree and will update this when I figure this out.  



For the love of the trees,
Becky

Shortleaf Pine - Pinus echinata

Pinaceae - Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 69
Shortleaf Pine Tree
Pinus echinata

Spring

Shortleaf Pine - Pinus echinata

This Shortleaf Pine lives in Cookeville, Tennessee.

The Shortleaf Pine provides habitat for birds and animals year round since it is an evergreen tree with new cones growing early in the spring and mature cones year round.

Summer

Shortleaf Pine

The Shortleaf Pine usually has two needles per bundle.  The needles are straight and 3-5 inches long.

The Shortleaf Pine tree provides valuable shelter and food for many different kinds of wildlife all year long.  Rabbits, birds, deer, and squirrels are just some of the wildlife that use the cover of this tree as their home. 

The Shortleaf Pine Tree

The Shortleaf pine has what is described as an open crown, and its needles are slender, flexible and not twisted.

This tree is compared to being confused at times with the Table Mtn. Pine, Pitch Pine and Virginia Pine. The differences being that the Table Mtn. Pine and Pitch Pine are said to have twisted needles that are coarse and not flexible, and the Virginia Pine has a irregular crown and is scraggly.

Fall 

Shortleaf Pine

Shortleaf Pine in Arkansas

Winter

 My favorite Shortleaf Pine Tree

Shortleaf Pine
This Short Leaf Pine Tree lives at the Asheville Botanical Gardens

The Champion Shortleaf Pine Trees

The American Champion Shortleaf Pine tree lived in Smith County, Texas.  It had a circumference of 154 inches and was 91 feet high.  It was reported that it died in 2017.  I could not find another one on their website.
http://www.americanforests.org/big-trees/shortleaf-pine-pinus-echinata-2/

The North Carolina champion lives in Bath, NC.  It has a circumference of 132 inches and is 86 feet tall.

For the love of the trees,
Becky

Pinus echinata

Red Spruce - Picea rubens

Pinaceae - Pine Family
"A Year With the Trees" - Tree Number 68
Red Spruce
Picea rubens

Spring

The Red Spruce - Picea rubens.  Photo by Robert Priddy

This Red Spruce lives on the Blue Ridge Parkway by the Mt. Pisgah Inn.
 http://www.pisgahinn.com/.

If you have never been there, I encourage you to go there.  It is so beautiful with the views that just go on forever.    When you get up that high at around 5,000 plus feet above sea level, you will be high enough to be in the spruce fir forest ecosystems.  During the second week of March, I saw the blooming red maples.  To be standing under a blooming red maple tree is magical, like you are standing under a living bouquet of flowers.

Summer

Red Spruce

Red Spruce Forest on the Parkway

My husband, Robert, found a whole forest of Red Spruce Trees on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 422, the Mt. Hardy Overlook. Two of his photos are on this blog post.

The parkway sign at Mt. Hardy overlook reads as follows:
"The United Daughters of the Confederacy in cooperation with the United States Forest Service planted this 125 acre forest as a living memorial to the 125,000 soldiers North Carolina provided the confederacy. The 125,000 Red Spruce Tree Forest was planted over a three-year period from 1941-1943."

I understand that it is easy to distinguish this tree from other conifers. How so?

The needles are square and 1/2 inch long. They are one per bundle.
They do not have the undersides of the Eastern Hemlock and Fraser Fir which are silvery.
The bark is flaky.
The cones hang down.
The needles are sharp and you feel it when you shake hands with a branch.

Spruce trees are the home of the endangered Northern flying squirrel.

This tree can live up to 350 years. It usually grows up to 130 feet tall.

There is a 50 acre virgin Red Spruce Forest in the Gaudineer Scenic Area in West Virginia in the Monongahela National Forest. I will go there in the near future and report back here on what I find. Oh my gosh, I can't wait!!

The Spruce Tree is the tree used to make the first chewing gum.  Did you know you can still buy spruce gum or make you own spruce gum. You could also make your very own spruce gum box, which was quite the item back in the 1800's. I think I may just make a spruce gum box myself.

To make your own gum, you will collect the sap, boil it, and put on a cookie sheet to cool. I understand that spruce gum is known to cure many addictions.

Fall 

The Red Spruce Tree

I photographed these trees today at the Red Spruce Memorial Forest on the Blue Ridge Parkway on a September morning. It was a very beautiful morning with the light filtering through the trees.

Winter

The Red Spruce
This photo is provided by the USDA Plants Database.  USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 1: 61.
Picea rubens

The Champion Red Spruce Trees

The United States champion red spruce lives in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It is 147 feet tall and has a 152 inch circumference. 

My favorite Red Spruce Trees

My favorite Red Spruce trees live at the Red Spruce Forest Memorial on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When you walk into that forest and the light shines through the trees, you know you are on sacred ground.  

For the love of the trees,
Becky