Eastern White Pine (TVA, White's Creek Small Wild Area, Plants)

Eastern White Pine

Pinus strobus

Summary ²

Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, white pine, northern white pine, Weymouth pine, and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland west through the Great Lakes region to southeastern Manitoba and Minnesota, and south along the Mississippi Basin and Appalachian Mountains to northernmost Georgia and Mississippi.

Associations ³

Foodplant / web feeder
communal larva of Acantholyda erythrocephala feeds from web on needles of Pinus strobus
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / pathogen
Armillaria mellea s.l. infects and damages Pinus strobus

Foodplant / pathogen
subcortical pycnium of Cronartium ribicola infects and damages stem of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 3-6
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
scattered, immersed, up to 2mm diam. stroma of Cytospora coelomycetous anamorph of Cytospora pini is saprobic on dead bark of Pinus strobus

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / feeds on
gregarious, subepidermal then erumpent through cleft epidermis, dull black pycnidium of Diplodina coelomycetous anamorph of Diplodina strobi feeds on needle of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 1-5
Other: uncertain

Foodplant / pathogen
Brunchorstia anamorph of Gremmeniella abietina infects and damages live twig of Pinus strobus
Remarks: Other: uncertain

Fungus / saprobe
subepidermal, then exposed apothecium of Meloderma desmazieri is saprobic on leaf of Pinus strobus

Foodplant / saprobe
hysterothecium of Mytilinidion scolecosporum is saprobic on wood of Pinus strobus
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
stromatic, in large groups perithecium of Nectria fuckeliana is saprobic on dead twig of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 3-5, 9-12

Foodplant / saprobe
Cryptosporiopsis anamorph of Pezicula livida is saprobic on dead, fallen branch of Pinus strobus

Foodplant / sap sucker
Pineus strobi sucks sap of live shoot of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 1-12

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed, becoming erumpeny conidioma of Strasseria coelomycetous anamorph of Strasseria geniculata is saprobic on dead twig of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 1-5

Foodplant / mycorrhiza / ectomycorrhiza
fruitbody of Suillus placidus is ectomycorrhizal with live root of Pinus strobus

Foodplant / mycorrhiza / ectomycorrhiza
fruitbody of Thelephora terrestris is ectomycorrhizal with live root of Pinus strobus
Remarks: captive: in captivity, culture, or experimentally induced

Fungus / saprobe
immersed apothecium of Therrya pini is saprobic on brittle, dead, attached, lacking needles branch (small) of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 2-7

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed, grouped perithecium of Valsa pini is saprobic on dead twig of Pinus strobus
Remarks: season: 11-2

Brief summary ⁴

Pinus strobus, the Eastern White Pine, is characterized by fascicles of 5 fine needles with a nonpersistent bundle sheath, and relatively soft, unarmed, elongate seed cones whose scales are spread at maturity. The native range of eastern white pine stretches from southeastern Manitoba to Newfoundland in Canada and from Minnesota and Iowa eastward to Maine and Pennsylvania, with a southward Appalachian extension to Tennessee and Georgia and isolated occurrences in western Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana. The species also has become naturalized from plantings, both within its historical range and elsewhere, including portions of Europe, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. A related taxon in portions of southern Mexico and Guatemala is sometimes treated as Pinus strobus var. chiapensis, but more often as a distinct species, Pinus chiapensis.

Natural stands of Pinus strobus occur in a variety of habitats, ranging from dune forests to bogs and mixed conifer/hardwood forests. The species also colonizes old fields and other former agricultural lands that are reverting back to forests. It has been planted extensively in plantations and is also used to revegetate mine spoils. The species also is cultivated commonly as a shade and ornamental tree

Eastern White Pine is an important timber tree for the production of softwood lumber. The wood is used for construction, cabinetry and furniture-making, handcrafts, and various other woodworking. Native American tribes used it extensively for various medicinal properties and it is an important food source for wildlife. The long history of cultivation has led to the development of numerous cultivars and forms. The species is affected by the exotic white pine blister rust Cronartium ribicola, an important pathogen of timber trees in the white pine group in temperate North America.

Damaging agents ⁵

There are a total of 277 insects and 110 disease organisms known to attack white pine. Only 16 insects and 7 diseases cause sufficient injury or mortality to be of concern. The three most important are white pine weevil (Pissodes strobi), white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), and Armillaria mellea (63). The white pine weevil kills the terminal shoot, which may include the last 2 or 3 years of growth. The tree is seldom killed unless it is very small; lateral branches from the highest live whorl turn upward to produce new terminal shoots. Bole crook and loss of stem length result from this injury (71). There is evidence that white pine provenances differ in resistance to weevils but even the lowest levels of injury are unacceptable (25).

Among other insect enemies are white pine aphid (Cinara strobi), which causes damage to twigs and branches of large trees and sometimes kills small trees; white pine sawfly (Neodiprion pinetum), which feeds on old and new foliage; Zimmerman pine moth (Dioryctria zimmermani); the Allegheny mound ant (Formica exsectoides), which injects formic acid into the tree tissue; pales weevil (Hylobius pales), which feeds on bark of young twigs and seedlings; pine root collar weevil (H. radicis); European pine shoot moth (Rhyacionia buoliana), which feeds on buds and twigs causing crooked trunks and branches; eastern pine shoot borer (Eucosma gloriola), which attacks terminal needle sheaths, often causing bushiness after repeated attacks; introduced pine sawfly (Diprion similis), which feeds on foliage and may defoliate an entire tree in one season; and white pine cone borer (Eucosma tocullionana), which feeds on white pine cones and is a potentially serious pest (5).

White pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is highly virulent throughout the range of white pine. Trees are susceptible from the seedling stage through maturity. Blister rust can cause high losses both in regeneration and in immature timber stands (71).

Red ring rot caused by Phellinus pini isthe most important heart rot of white pine. The fungus enters through wounds, dead limbs, or tips killed by weevils. Losses are greater in older trees but do not build up rapidly. Haematostereum sanguinolentum, a wound parasite, is probably the third most destructive fungus associated with white pine. It usually enters through pruning wounds (71).

Phaeolus schweinitzii causes one of the most common and destructive root rots. A root rot caused by Heterobasidion annosum is found particularly on white pines growing on poorly aerated soils. Thinnings appear to increase the incidence of this disease (71). Armillaria mellea destroys much of the white pine seedling and sapling reproduction for distances up to 9 m (30 ft) from hardwood stumps. The fungus radiates and girdles pines at the root collar and causes resinosis (33). Other root rots that attack white pine are Inonotus tomentosus and Scytinostroma galactinium. Many fungi invade white pine foliage. The most serious damage is caused by Bifusella linearis, which attacks first-year needles; Scirrhia acicola, which can cause spring shedding of all needles; and Capnodium pini, which causes surface sooty mold on aphid secretions on needles.

Three categories of nursery diseases are pre-emergence and post-emergence damping off, most commonly caused by Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium spp., Pythium debaryanum, P. ultimum, and Phytophthora cinnamomi; damping off and root collar rot caused by the preceding fungi and Cylindrocladium scoparium and Diplodia pinea; and foliage and succulent stem blights caused by Cylindrocladium scoparium, Diplodia pinea, Phacidium infestans, and Rhizina undulata. In the field, seedlings may be attacked by Armillaria mellea and by most of the fungi observed in the nursery. In 3- to 10-year-old plantations in Pennsylvania, Verticicladiella procera was identified (65).

The bark on exposed roots and the stem in second-growth white pine stands is thin, and fire resistance is low. Losses invariably are heavy after a fire, with mortality continuing for several years. Also, fire injury is probably responsible for introducing disease agents. If fires occurred more frequently than once in 10 years, white pine reproduction might be eliminated (53). Old trees have thicker bark and are at least moderately resistant to fire.

The species is relatively windfirm. if permitted full development, but in dense stands, wind damage may be expected from an occasional severe storm, particularly after a recent partial cutting (71). Wind-deformed trees are subject to later compression failures in the bole. Also, white pine is damaged by deer browsing; ice and snow, which often cause limb and stem breakage; sulfur dioxide in stack gases resulting from large scale burning of coal and oil refining; fluorine gas from brick kilns; atmospheric ozone; and sea-salt spray (11,26,33,58).

Description ⁶

Trees to 67m; trunk to 1.8m diam., straight; crown conic, becoming rounded to flattened. Bark gray-brown, deeply furrowed, with long, irregularly rectangular, scaly plates. Branches whorled, spreading-upswept; twigs slender, pale red-brown, glabrous or pale puberulent, aging gray, ±smooth. Buds ovoid-cylindric, light red-brown, 0.4--0.5cm, slightly resinous. Leaves 5 per fascicle, spreading to ascending, persisting 2--3 years, 6--10cm ´ 0.7--1mm, straight, slightly twisted, pliant, deep green to blue-green, pale stomatal lines evident only on adaxial surfaces, margins finely serrulate, apex abruptly acute to short-acuminate; sheath 1--1.5cm, shed early. Pollen cones ellipsoid, 10--15mm, yellow. Seed cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, clustered, pendent, symmetric, cylindric to lance-cylindric or ellipsoid-cylindric before opening, ellipsoid-cylindric to cylindric or lance-cylindric when open, (7--)8--20cm, gray-brown to pale brown, with purple or gray tints, stalks 2--3cm; apophyses slightly raised, resinous at tip; umbo terminal, low. Seeds compressed, broadly obliquely obovoid; body 5--6mm, red-brown mottled with black; wing 1.8--2.5cm, pale brown. 2 n =24.

Faunal associations ⁷

Many insects feed on pines, including White Pine. These species include the caterpillars of many moths (see Moth Table) and the caterpillars of the butterfly Callophrys nipon (Eastern Pine Elfin). Other insect feeders include the caterpillars of several sawflies, the wood-boring larvae of several Long-Horned beetles, Oecanthus pini (Pine Tree Cricket), the larvae of Cecidomyia resinicola (Jack Pine Resin Midge), and several weevils (see Insect Table for a listing of these species). Pine seeds are an important source of food to many birds, particularly in boreal areas (see Bird Table). The Red Squirrel, Gray Squirrel, Southern Flying Squirrel, and White-Footed Mouse also eat the seeds. Branches and needles are eaten by White-Tailed Deer and the Cottontail Rabbit; where these two animals are abundant, young saplings may not survive. Because of the good cover, some birds like to nest in pine trees. These species include the Blue-Headed Vireo, Pine Warbler, Yellow-Throated Warbler, Black-Throated Green Warbler, Bald Eagle, and several hawks. For the same reason, some birds prefer to roost in pines; this includes the Evening Grosbeak and several owls. Photographic Location

Special uses ⁸

Although the genus Pinus is used by wildlife for food and cover, few specific observations of eastern white pine have been noted. Some species of songbirds that consume seeds of white pine are the yellow-bellied sapsucker, black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, pine warbler, pine grosbeak, and the red crossbill. Some mammals that eat seeds, bark, and foliage of white pine are beaver, snowshoe hares, New England cottontails, porcupine, red and gray squirrels, mice, and white-tailed deer (48).

White pines are useful in urban plantings. Trees grown from seeds obtained in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, or in adjacent regions of New Brunswick, Maine, and New Hampshire may be more suitable than trees obtained from other regions (27). They usually have more compact crowns and are more resistant to snowbreak; they grow more slowly, have darker blue-green color, and seem to be more resistant to air pollutants than trees from other origins.

White pine has been used extensively for stabilizing strip-mine spoils. In the anthracite region of Pennsylvania, white pine survived well on spoils that fell within the pH range 5.1 to 6.5, and growth was better on lower slopes of the spoils than on upper slopes (18). On bituminous spoils in West Virginia, white pine survived best on spoils having a pH greater than 4.0 (13). Growth on the spoils was slow for the first 5 years, but total height exceeded that of Scotch pine (P. sylvestris), and red pine at 10 years.

The bark of white pine is used as an astringent and an expectorant, and the wood has been used to produce white pine tar, which is used as an antiseptic, expectorant, and protective (38). White pine wood has medium strength, is easily worked, and stains and finishes well. It is used for furniture, patterns, matches, and many other items. White pine is also planted for Christmas trees. The foliage has a good color and responds well to shearing (19).

Sources and Credits

(c) copepodo, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/63661371@N00/2923651680
Adapted by Jonathan (JC) Carpenter from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_strobus
(c) BioImages, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/22922534
(c) George Yatskievych, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/17570924
(c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777668
(c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/4928638
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/29450268
(c) Unknown, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/22777670

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