VAL-08: Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
Back >>
Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
Common Name: Eastern White Pine
Scientific Name: Pinus strobus
Other Names: Northern White Pine, Weymouth Pine, Soft Pine.
Leaf: Needles in bundles of 5, bluish-green, 5-15cm long; straight, flexible, light, slender, soft to the touch, edges finely toothed, pointed at tip; triangular in cross-section; remain on tree 2-4 years.
Flower: Male and female cones on the same tree; male (pollen) cones yellow, much smaller than female cones, clustered at the base of this year’s growth, release yellow pollen; female (seed) cones pink or purplish at end of shoots, take two growing seasons to mature into woody cones; wind pollinated.
Fruit: Typical cones we see on pine trees are female (seed) cones; immature cones cylindrical, 10-18cm long, green, cigar-shaped, sticky, often curved, hanging on 2cm long stalks, aromatic, often oozing white resin, takes 2 years to mature; mature cones light brown, 50-80 scales without prickles; 2 seeds per scale, mottled reddish-brown, each seed 5-8mm long wih a 1.5-2cm wing.
Twig: Twigs green and hairy in first year becoming hairless and orange-brown in the following year; buds reddish brown, 15mm long, slender, pointed, with overlapping scales.
Bark: Young bark gray green and smooth; mature bark dark gray brown, furrowed, with broad scaly ridges, 2-5cm thick.
Wood: Soft, light, somewhat strong, straight-grained, even-textured; heartwood light brown, moderately decay resistant; sapwood almost white; annual growth rings distinct.
Facts About This Tree:
1. The White pine is the provincial tree of Ontario.
2. Eastern white pines can live to be about 200 years. They produce seeds regularly after
20-30 years, with good seed production occurring every 3-5 years and little or nothing
produced in between.
3. The bark of the Eastern white pine is very fire resistant, so after a fire it can drop
seeds on the exposed soil.
4. Eastern white Pine wood is strong, easily worked and come in tall, straight trunks
which makes them very commercially valuable. Most of the Eastern white Pine in North
America was cut down during the 1700s-1800s. During this time some stands were reserved
for making ship masts for the Royal Navy.
5. Eastern white pine wood is used to make doors, trims, mouldings, plywood, furniture,
panelling, siding, cabinetwork.
6. Eastern white pine is sometimes called Weymouth pine after Lord Weymouth who planted
them in large areas on his estate in England during in the 18th century.
Lat, Long: 43.74730, -79.82449
Diameter (DBH): 24.4 cm
Last Year Modified: 2015
Carbon Stored in this Tree: 109.34 kg of C
Equivalent CO2: 400.89 kg of C
Find more trees in Valleywood.
Reference
1. Blouin, Glen. 2001. An Eclectic Guide to Trees East of the Rockies. Erin, ON. Boston
Mills Press.
2. Linda Kershaw. 2001. Trees of Ontario. Edmonton, AB Canada. Lone Pine Publishing.
3. Farrar, J. L. 2007. Trees in Canada. ON. Canadian Forest Service.
4. Photo Credit: Daniel J. Kim; Kathryn Chin; ‘Close-Knit (1)’ by Nicholas A. Tonelli
via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/ftsZGW; ‘Eastern White Pine Pinus strobus’ by Greg Wagoner
via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/5mMde6; ‘Pine Cone — 1/4/09′ by Brian via Flickr –
https://flic.kr/p/5PWp5V; ‘Pollen (male) cones and candle on white pine, Woodbury MN’ by
Eli Sagor via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/M1hdt; ‘n81_w1150′ by Biodiversity Heritage
Library via Flickr – https://flic.kr/p/cT11fb; ‘DSC01492′ by geneva_wirth via Flickr.
Copyright 2015 Association for Canadian Educational Resources
