North Carolina Trees & Shrubs

Pinaceae > Pinus

Shortleaf Pine needles generally occur 2 per cluster and cones are smaller and less prickly than Loblolly. Needle length averages longer than Virginia and shorter than Loblolly.

Bark is more scaly than Loblolly, generally with less deep fissures between plates.

Shortleaf Pine bark often (but not always) has resin pits or pitch pockets, little dimples on the surface. Loblolly bark never shows this trait.

Older trees have a fairly open crown and can grow to 80 to 100 feet tall. Shortleaf Pine is common statewide in NC and tends to occur on drier, rockier sites such as ridge-tops, but may be found in many different habitats.

Common in the piedmont & coastal plain of North Carolina, Loblolly Pine is native and is commonly planted in plantations for timber, pulp, and paper.

Most of the yellow dust in the air and on the ground in the spring in central North Carolina is pollen from Loblolly Pine. Shown here are the male, pollen-producing cones.

Most needle clusters are in fascicles of 3, although groups of 4 or even 5 are possible.

Mature female cones.

Young cones are often predated by squirrels, who tear into the cones to eat the seeds.

Bark is usually broken into rectangular plates often with fairly deep fissures between the plates.

Grown in a plantation and then exposed by a harvest.

Cones under a big tree. Longleaf Pine was once abundant in the southeastern U.S., but it now occupies less than 10% of its former range. In North Carolina, it's found in the lower piedmont, sandhills, and parts of the coastal plain.

This little seedling germinated in a crack of a log.

The young "grass stage" produces a thick clump of foliage that protects the tender growing tissue at the tip of the stem in case of a fire. Fires are common in natural Longleaf Pine communities, and the trees have evolved to cope.

After years in the grass stage, the trees will "bolt" up in growth to elevate the tender shoot tip above the fire zone.

Note two short needles per cluster (fascicle) and note that the needles are twisted.

Virginia Pine cones are fairly small and round.

Often easily recognized by its scraggly, twisted form, Pond Pine is common in wet, peaty habitats in the NC coastal plain.

Needles are clustered in 3s.

Cones are conical or pyramidal in shape until eventually becoming almost round. Cones persist on tree for years and years, often until fire opens them up.

Native further south in the US, Slash Pine is commonly planted in pine plantations in North Carolina for as a timber tree.

Compared to Loblolly, Slash Pine has slightly longer needles that are darker green.

Slash Pine needles come in bundles of 2 or 3 needles per fascicle.

Freshly fallen cones are reddish-orange and glossy, as if varnished.

Many Slash Pine cones are stalked, whereas Loblolly Pine cones lack stalks.

Older fallen cones lose that varnished appearance.

Portions of outer bark often flake off, revealing reddish-orange patches.

Needles are soft to the touch and have a white-ish appearance.

Fascicles usually contain 5 needles/cluster.

Bark is smooth and olive-gray. Branches are whorled.