Pinus resinosa

Pinus resinosa, known as red pine (also Norway pine in Minnesota), is a pine native to Eastern North America.

Description

Red pine is a coniferous evergreen tree characterized by tall, straight growth. It usually ranges from Template:Convert in height and Template:Convert in trunk diameter, exceptionally reaching Template:Convert tall. The crown is conical, becoming a narrow rounded dome with age. The bark is thick and gray-brown at the base of the tree, but thin, flaky and bright orange-red in the upper crown; the tree's name derives from this distinctive character. Some red color may be seen in the fissures of the bark. The species is self pruning; there tend not to be dead branches on the trees, and older trees may have very long lengths of branchless trunk below the canopy.

The leaves are needle-like, dark yellow-green, in fascicles of two, Template:Convert long, and brittle. The leaves snap cleanly when bent; this character, stated as diagnostic for red pine in some texts, is however shared by several other pine species. The cones are symmetrical ovoid, Template:Convert long by Template:Convert broad, and purple before maturity, ripening to nut-blue and opening to Template:Convert broad, the scales without a prickle and almost stalkless.The pine grows well in sandy soils and on soils which are too poor for white pine.

Phylogeny

Red pine is notable for its very constant morphology and low genetic variation throughout its range, suggesting it has been through a near extinction in its recent evolutionary history. A genetic study of nuclear microsatellite polymorphisms among populations distributed throughout its natural range found that red pine populations from Newfoundland are genetically distinct from most mainland populations, consistent with dispersal from different glacial refugia in this highly self-pollinating species.

• An old tree in Itasca State Park, Minnesota
  An old tree in Itasca State Park, Minnesota
• Pollen cones
  Pollen cones in spring
• Cone
  Cone (scale in cm)
• Red pine boughs, showing yellowing and abscission of older foliage in the autumn
  Red pine boughs, showing yellowing and abscission of older foliage in the autumn.
• Tree roots anchor the structure and provide water and nutrients. The ground has eroded away around the roots of this young red pine tree.
  Tree roots anchor the structure and provide water and nutrients. The ground has eroded away around the roots of this young red pine tree.

Distribution and habitat

It occurs from Newfoundland west to Manitoba, and south to Pennsylvania, with several smaller, disjunct populations occurring in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia and West Virginia, as well as a few small pockets in extreme northern New Jersey and northern Illinois.It can be found in a variety of habitats.

Ecology

It is intolerant of shade, but does well in windy sites; it grows best in well-drained soil. It is a long-lived tree, reaching a maximum age of about 500 years.

Uses

The wood is commercially valuable in forestry for timber and paper pulp, and the tree is also used for landscaping.The wood is light, hard, and very close grained. It is not durable in contact with soil without chemical treatment. It is used in construction for piling, masts, spars, boxes, and crates.

In culture

The red pine is Minnesota's state tree. In Minnesota the use of the name "Norway" may stem from early Scandinavian immigrants who likened the American red pines to the Scots pines back home.

External links

• Interactive Distribution Map of Red Pine at plantmaps.com