Pinus rigida (pitch pine)

Pinus rigida Mill.

Pitch pine

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Coniferophyta	Conifers—cone-bearing trees (and a few shrubs)
Class	Pinopsida	Gymnosperms such as cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews
Order	Pinales	Cone-bearing plants: cedar, cypress, fir, juniper, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, yew, and others
Family	Pinaceae	Pine family: cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces
Genus	Pinus	Latin for “pine”
Species	rigida	From Latin rigida, for the stiff needles

About plant names...

Pitch pine is native to eastern North America.

Identification: These trees are often relatively small and oddly shaped, about 40-60' (12-18 m), but they can reach 100' (30 m). Bark is dark and scaly when the plant is young, becoming scaly, peelable plates that are light brown or red brown in mature trees. Needles are 2½-5" (6.3-12 cm) long, in groups of 3, yellow-green or green, twisted. Tufts of needles may occur on the trunk, but I have never seen anything like the heavily needled branches of the tree in four of the photos at right.

For further information, see the Pinus comparison tables.

From Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Brown, Addison, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions, 1913. Scanned for the USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database.

Online References:

Pinus rigida on www.carolinanature.com

Pinus rigida on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Pinus rigida on Wikipedia

Pinus rigida at the University of Connecticut Plant Database

References:

Sibley, David Allen, The Sibley Guide to Trees, Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p. 24

7/2/2010 · Stansbury Mill Rd, Phoenix, MD
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm)

I have never seen a tree like this one. · 9/24/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 3½ × 2½' (1.2 × 0.8 m) ID is uncertain

3 needles · 10/25/2009 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashua, NH

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

3/9/2012 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, MA
≈ 4½ × 3" (11 × 7.9 cm)

6/20/2010 · Blue Hill Reservation, Milford, MA
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

5/26/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, MA

Baby cones. · 9/16/2016 · Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, Bar Harbor, ME

10/2/2020 · Stansbury Mill Rd, Phoenix, MD

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm) ID is uncertain

9/18/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 5½ × 4' (1.8 × 1.2 m) ID is uncertain

2/18/2012 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

3/9/2012 · Groton Place and Sabine Woods, Groton, MA
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm)

Baby cones. · 9/16/2016 · Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, Bar Harbor, ME

6/20/2010 · Blue Hill Reservation, Milford, MA
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

I have never seen a tree like this one. · 9/24/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 3½ × 2½' (1.2 × 0.8 m) ID is uncertain

Pinus rigida description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 16 × 24" (41 × 62 cm) ID is uncertain

9/8/2020 · Brunswick Town Commons, Brunswick, ME
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

9/8/2020 · Brunswick Town Commons, Brunswick, ME
≈ 6 × 4" (14 × 10.0 cm)

4/30/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

9/16/2016 · Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm)

I have never seen a tree like this one. · 9/24/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 31 × 46" (78 × 117 cm) ID is uncertain

9/8/2020 · Brunswick Town Commons, Brunswick, ME
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 20 cm)

9/18/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 9½ × 6½' (2.9 × 2.0 m) ID is uncertain

4/30/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 11 × 7" (27 × 18 cm)

Baby cones. · 9/16/2016 · Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, Bar Harbor, ME

8/6/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton, MA
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

7/2/2010 · Stansbury Mill Rd, Phoenix, MD
≈ 14 × 9" (35 × 23 cm)

I have never seen a tree like this one. · 9/24/2009 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 31 × 46" (78 × 117 cm) ID is uncertain

9/16/2016 · Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail, Bar Harbor, ME

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

11/5/2009 · Pepperell, MA
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

9/8/2020 · Brunswick Town Commons, Brunswick, ME
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

2/18/2012 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, MA
≈ 31 × 46" (78 × 117 cm)

4/24/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, MA
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ME
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain

5/26/2016 · Pearl Hill State Park, Ashby, MA

Range: Zones 4-7:

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