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The Eastern white pine is a soft wood pine that is ubiquitous in our area. Numerous species of songbirds and small mammals feed on white pine seeds, while rabbits and deer graze on the needles. The bark, roots and seedlings are also food for gophers.
White pines have five needles per bundle. A good memory bridge for identifying five-needle bundles as those of white pines is that there are also five letters in the word “white.”
Forestry Board Special to The News-Post
The Eastern white pine is a soft wood pine that is ubiquitous in our area. Numerous species of songbirds and small mammals feed on white pine seeds, while rabbits and deer graze on the needles. The bark, roots and seedlings are also food for gophers.
White pines have five needles per bundle. A good memory bridge for identifying five-needle bundles as those of white pines is that there are also five letters in the word “white.”
Trees and shrubs are divided into two groups, based on whether or not they possess complete flowers and fruit (angiosperms) or have naked seeds that are encased in a woody, cone structure (gymnosperms).
Angiosperms are commonly called hardwood or deciduous trees because their wood contains chemicals such as lignin, which makes it hard and heavy, and they shed their leaves in the fall in temperate regions such as Maryland.
Gymnosperms are more commonly referred to as evergreens or conifers since most have needle like leaves that persist year-round, and they bear their seeds in cones. Conifers are a more primitive tree, and they were the dominant tree during the age of dinosaurs.
The dominant conifer canopy was eventually surpassed by hardwoods about the time mammals first appeared on the scene. Explanations for this shift were that evergreens were dependent on wind or gravity to fertilize and distribute their seed, whereas angiosperms had flowers and fruit to attract pollinators along with wind and gravity. This provided more chances for success and enabled more opportunities for cross-pollination in hardwoods.
Deciduous trees could also drop their leaves and enter a state of dormancy when conditions were not especially appealing for growth and survival, such as wintertime or during a prolonged drought, whereas evergreens did not have that advantage. In addition, it normally takes longer for cones to mature compared to fruits, and some cones will remain closed for years unless unusual circumstances occur, such as being exposed to very hot temperatures during a forest fire. As such, hardwoods had a distinct advantage in reproduction and adjusting to changes in climatic conditions compared to the evergreens.
Despite their more primitive nature, conifers are still a major part of our forests, especially in arid regions, high-altitude areas and northern boreal forests, where cool climates prevail. The presence of smaller, waxy needles prevents excessive water loss, so evergreens can inhabit areas where water may be scarce due to dry climate or shorter growing seasons. The internal structure of the woody “tracheid” cells and needle-like leaves also provides efficient means to transport water and nutrients up and down the tree, enabling evergreens to conserve water and efficiently transport it to all parts of the plant.
This same adaptation also allows evergreens to grow to a very large size, especially trees like the giant sequoia, redwood, Western red cedar and sugar pine. Because evergreens don’t shed all their needles at once like deciduous trees, they do not expend as much energy as hardwoods when leafing out in the spring. This adaptation allows evergreens to survive in some soils that might be too barren for hardwoods.
Throughout the globe, conifers are grouped into seven families, and within these families are 68 genera and about 600 species of cone-bearing trees. Some of the more common genera found throughout North America are pine, spruce, fir, hemlock, yew, true cedar, juniper, metasequoia, larch and ginkgo.
The genus Pinus is the largest group of conifers, and it is made up of pine trees. There are nearly 90 species of pine trees found throughout the globe, many of which have value for lumber, pulp, turpentine, oils, pine tar, chemicals and other “naval stores.”
Pine needles are found in groups of two, three and five needles encased in a sheath known as a fascicle. Most pine trees develop in height from a central terminal bud and develop a single group of side branches along their trunk called a whorl. Counting the number of whorls along the trunk of a pine tree is a good way to tell the age of the tree.
Pines have been split into two groups: soft pines and hard pines. The soft pines have a gradual transition from spring to summer wood so that growth rings are not easy to spot. In addition, these trees have softer wood that is lighter in color. Soft pines normally have five needles per bundle, but some have two. The hard pines have a distinct transition between spring and summer wood so that the growth wings are more distinct. Their wood is normally harder and usually has a yellow color. Hard pines normally have two to three needles per bundle. Examples of soft pines include the Eastern white pine, piñon pine, sugar pine and Western white pine. Examples of hard pines include loblolly pine, pitch pine, shortleaf pine, red pine, longleaf pine and ponderosa pine.
One of the most common members of the soft pine family found in Frederick County is the Eastern white pine. This tree is the largest-growing conifer found in the East, attaining a height of around 200 feet. Eastern white pines prefer well-drained soils with a sandy texture. White pine grows naturally in areas like Piney Mountain, north of Thurmont, and some very large trees can be found there.
Eastern white pine was one of the most important timbers used by colonists. The British prized large, straight white pine for ship masts, and the prime trees were branded with the king’s mark, meaning they were reserved for the military. This king’s mark can still be seen on some very old pine trees.
White pine was extensively planted on hillsides for erosion control projects in the 1960s and 1970s in Frederick County. Most of these plantations persist today.
Piñon pine are noteworthy in that they produce an edible nut as a fruit. Piñon pines are scattered around the semiarid sections of the Southwest.
The sugar pine is a Western tree that has the distinction of being the largest member of the pine family growing in North America, with some specimens growing to a height of 230 feet. Sugar pines are fast-growing, wind firm and long-lived, with some individuals attaining an age of 600 years. Sugar pine also have very large cones that range in size from 10 to 30 inches long.
The Virginia and pitch pine are the most common hard pines growing in Frederick County, but sometimes you might come across a shortleaf pine if you are around Sugarloaf or College mountains. Likewise, one might see a Table Mountain pine tree in a rocky area, such as the High Knob area of Gambrill State Park.
Loblolly pine is a common yellow pine found in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore. This tree is the most important timber-producing tree in the East. Loblolly pine growing in managed plantations can achieve a merchantable size in 35 years or so.
Other important Southern yellow pines include shortleaf pine, longleaf pine and slash pine. The shortleaf pine has become rare throughout its range, and there are some concerted efforts to reestablish this tree to increase biodiversity. The longleaf pine is unusual in that it has a grass phase where it does not grow very tall, looking more like blades of grass. During the grass stage, the roots of the longleaf pine are developing. Once the roots develop sufficiently, the tree will grow rapidly in height.
The red pine is a dominant pine tree found in the Lake States and to the north. Old-growth red pine was cut in the Lake States and floated down rivers on their way to sawmills in the 1800s. Some of these trees sank and were preserved under the water. In recent times, many of these large logs have been reclaimed from the watery depths to be used for lumber.
The ponderosa pine is a dominant tree found in the Rocky Mountains. One of the oldest living organisms found in North America is the bristlecone pine. Some of these specimens are estimated to be 5,000 years old. Compared to this, a 3,000-year-old redwood is a relative newcomer.
The Frederick County Forestry Board promotes the conservation, stewardship, and sustainable use of our forest resources and urban landscapes. We inform the public and vigorously advocate to retain or increase the integrity of our local, regional, and national forest ecosystems. Trees enhance our physical and mental well-being; improve the quality of our streams, lakes, and the Bay; help cool the environment; retain and improve soil; produce oxygen while consuming carbon dioxide; and provide shelter and food for wildlife. Please visit frederick.forestryboard.org for additional information and resources or to sign up for our free weekly Nature Note articles, tree plantings, Second Sunday Tree Walks, tree shelter exchange, and more.
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