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Pinus rigida - (image 1 of 6)

Taxonomy

Family: Pinacea

Habitat

Dry, rocky or sandy soil.

Associates

Distribution

Southern ME to southern Quebec and southern Ontario, south to northern GA, with some populations in central and western KY.

Morphology

Upright, evergreen conifer to 20 m, with spreading, irregular branches; bark dark and very rough; twigs brown; terminal buds about 1.5 cm; bud scales chestnut-brown, fringed, resinous; needles mostly in fascicles of 3, persisting 2-3 years, stiff, dark green, 7-12 cm long and about 2 mm thick; cones divergent, conic-ovoid, 4-7 cm, long-persistent but usually opening at maturity; apophysis thickened and somewhat elevated, the umbo elevated and with a slender spine 1-3 mm; seeds about 1.5 cm long.

Notes

Flowers NA

Wetland indicator: FACU

This species is the dominant pine of sandy barrens in NY and NJ but is mostly replaced by other species further south. The needles are consistently in bundles of 3.

References

Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.

The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY

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