Pinus echinata P. Miller. Subgenus: Pinus. Section: Trifoliae. Subsection: Australes. clade: Taeda. Common name: Shortleaf Pine, Rosemary Pine, Yellow Pine. Phenology: Mar-Apr; Sep-Oct. Habitat: Dry to dry-mesic upland forests and woodlands, rocky ridges and slopes, glades, bluffs, Coastal Plain sandhills, old fields, riparian forests, generally in rather xeric sites and on acid soils, but also occurring in mesic to even wet sites and on mafic or subcalcareous rocks. Distribution: Widespread in se. North America, north to s. NY, NJ, s. PA, s. OH, s. IL, s. MO, and e. OK, perhaps reaching its greatest importance in dry, sandstone landscapes, such as the Cumberland Plateau of WV, KY, TN, and AL, and the Ozarks and Ouachitas of AR, MO, and OK.
ID notes: Where their ranges overlap, P. echinata often co-occurs with P. virginiana and is sometimes confused because both species have short needles and small cones that tend to persist on the trees. P. echinata has needles 7-13 cm long, not twisted, or slightly so, in bundles of 2, usually with some in bundles of 3, rather slender, < 1.0 mm wide (vs. needles 2-8 cm long, typically twisted, in bundles of 2, rather stout, often 1.0-1.2 mm wide), bark plates mostly > 4 cm wide, with crater-like blisters ca. 1 mm in diameter (vs. bark plates mostly about 2 cm wide, without crater-like blisters), winter buds not very resinous (vs. very resinous), and 3-4 year-old twigs rough and flaking (vs. smoothish to rough). From a distance, Pinus echinata has a "fuzzy" look, with a rounded crown, lacking the slender "spiky" branches of P. virginiana projecting at angles upwards from the crown, instead having horizontal branches in the crown.
Origin/Endemic status: Native
Synonymy ⓘ: = Ar, C, ETx1, F, Fl1, FNA2, G, Il, K4, Mo1, NS, NY, Pa, POWO, RAB, S, S13, Tat, Tn, Tx, Va, W, WH3, WV, Price (1989), Ward (1963), (basionym); = Pinus mitis Michx.
Links to other floras: = Pinus echinata - FNA2
Heliophily ⓘ: 7
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Horticultural Information
Intro:
Stems: Pith continuous. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) green or violet, glabrous or pubescent, stipitate glandular. Twigs (2-4 years old) glabrous or pubescent, scaly. Leaf scars absent, bundle scars absent, stipule scars absent, short shoots present or absent, short shoots bearing leaves. Bark of mature trunks flaky or furrowed or plated. Buds axillary or terminal, bud clusters at ends of twigs present or absent, brown or gray or reddish-brown or tan, 5-7(-10) mm long, cylindric or ellipsoid-cylindric or oblong-ovoid or ovoid or ovoid-cylindric, sharp, glabrous or pubescent, ciliate, bud scales imbricate.
Leaves: Leaves evergreen, needle-like, simple, sessile, fascicled, spreading or ascending, needles 2(-3) per cluster or fascicle, (5-)7-11(-13) cm long, 0.1 cm wide, acicular, leaf margins entire or serrulate, leaf apices acute, leaf bases attenuate, leaf cross section three-angled or semicircular. Leaf upper surface blue-green or green or yellow-green, striped, glabrous or glabrate, stipitate glandular. Leaf lower surface blue-green or green or yellow-green, striped, glabrous or glabrate, stipitate glandular. Stipules absent.
Inforescence: Pollen cones shedding pollen February or March or April, 1.5-1.8(-2) cm long. Seed cone maturation 2 years. Seed cones semi-persistent or not persistent, axillary, nearly sessile or stalked, symmetric, before opening lanceoloid or lance-ovoid, when open conic or globose or oblong-ovoid or ovoid or ovoid-conic, (3-)4-6(-7) cm long, immature seed cones green or rose or salmon, mature seed cones brown or gray or reddish-brown. Seed cone scales woody, armed. Seed cone armature deciduous or persistent, curved or straight, weak. Apophyses keeled.
Flowers:
Fruits:
Comments: Needles slightly twisted, or not twisted; buds resinous (or not resinous); bark plates with evident resin pockets; 3-4 year-old twigs rough and flaking.
Height: (15-)20-35(-45) m tall.
plant sale text:
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description:
stems: Pith continuous. Young twigs (1-year-old or less) green or violet, glabrous or pubescent, stipitate glandular. Twigs (2-4 years old) glabrous or pubescent, scaly. Leaf scars absent, bundle scars absent, stipule scars absent, short shoots present or absent, short shoots bearing leaves. Bark of mature trunks flaky or furrowed or plated. Buds axillary or terminal, bud clusters at ends of twigs present or absent, brown or gray or reddish-brown or tan, 5-7(-10) mm long, cylindric or ellipsoid-cylindric or oblong-ovoid or ovoid or ovoid-cylindric, sharp, glabrous or pubescent, ciliate, bud scales imbricate.
leaves: Leaves evergreen, needle-like, simple, sessile, fascicled, spreading or ascending, needles 2(-3) per cluster or fascicle, (5-)7-11(-13) cm long, 0.1 cm wide, acicular, leaf margins entire or serrulate, leaf apices acute, leaf bases attenuate, leaf cross section three-angled or semicircular. Leaf upper surface blue-green or green or yellow-green, striped, glabrous or glabrate, stipitate glandular. Leaf lower surface blue-green or green or yellow-green, striped, glabrous or glabrate, stipitate glandular. Stipules absent.
inflorescence: Pollen cones shedding pollen February or March or April, 1.5-1.8(-2) cm long. Seed cone maturation 2 years. Seed cones semi-persistent or not persistent, axillary, nearly sessile or stalked, symmetric, before opening lanceoloid or lance-ovoid, when open conic or globose or oblong-ovoid or ovoid or ovoid-conic, (3-)4-6(-7) cm long, immature seed cones green or rose or salmon, mature seed cones brown or gray or reddish-brown. Seed cone scales woody, armed. Seed cone armature deciduous or persistent, curved or straight, weak. Apophyses keeled.
flowers:
fruits:
comments: Needles slightly twisted, or not twisted; buds resinous (or not resinous); bark plates with evident resin pockets; 3-4 year-old twigs rough and flaking.
cultural notes:
germination code:
native range: eastern United States