Virgnia Pine

(Pinus virginiana)

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Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana)

Identifying Characters: Virginia Pine is identifiable by its relatively short, twisted needles in bundles of 2. the cones are symmetrical and not oblique at the base.

Similar Species: Within its range Virginia Pine is most likely to be confused with Table Mountain Pine. The apical spines of the cone scales are not as well developed in Virginia Pine as in Table Mountain Pine and the cones of Virginia Pine are symmetric, not oblique at the base. Pitch Pine has needles in bundles of 3, not 2.

Measurements: Virginia Pine is a small to medium size tree and is about 30 to 40 feet in height and 1 to 1.5 feet in diameter. The species has an irregular, flat crown.

Cones: Cones 1.5 to 2.5 inches long, ovate to ovate elongate; cone scales nearly flat with a small apical spine.

Needles: Needles in bundles of 2 and bundle sheath not shed after the first year; needles 1 to 3 inches long, thick, and gray-green; needles twisted (not parallel to each other).

Bark: Bark is red-brown and brown by shallow fissures into thin, flat scales.

Native Range: Virginia Pine generally grows throughout the Piedmont and at lower elevations in the mountains from central Pennsylvania southwestward to northeastern Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Georgia. It is also found in the Atlantic Coastal Plain as far north as New Jersey and Long Island, NY, and extends westward in scattered areas into Ohio, southern Indiana, and Tennessee. (Silvics of North America. 1990. Agriculture Handbook 654.)

Habitat: Virginia Pine does best on well drained soils, but not in sandy soils. The species does best on clay, loam, or sandy loam.