Pinus glabra Walter

Spruce Pine; Walter's Pine

Tree

Perennial

Vascular

Spruce Pine is a native evergreen needle-leafed tree in the Pine family (Pinaceae). It can be found in the southern half of Alabama. Spruce Pine occurs on floodplains, in bottomland hardwood forests, in ravines, and on mesic hardwood slopes. It is a large tree reaching heights of 90 feet. The trunk is straight and the bark is gray in color. On young stems and branches the bark is smooth and tight, becoming scaly and flaking in irregular rectangular plates on older stems and trunks. The branches are whorled and lower limbs persist for some time, giving the tree a “cedar” or “Christmas-tree” appearance. Needle leaves occur in fascicles of 2. The leaves are 1.5-3 inches in length, straight to slightly twisted, and dark green in color. The needles have fine stomatal line on their surface and serrulate margins. They are soft and flexible in texture. Pollen cones are about 1/2 inch in length and purple-brown in color. Seed cones are lance-ovoid in outline, 1 ½- 2 ½ inches in length, red-brown in color, and unarmed or with weak recurved prickles. The seed cones are nearly sessile, mature in 2 years, and turn gray and persist on the tree after releasing the seed. The seed are winged. Spruce Pine is unusual in its ability to reproduce under a closed canopy, allowing it to persist in mature hardwood forests. It is the most shade tolerant of our native pines. Young trees are fire intolerant and easily killed by even low intensity fires. Although it grows into a large tree, the wood of Spruce Pine is brittle, close-grained, and nondurable. It has little value as a timber tree. Spruce Pine is occasionally sold as a landscape tree. It can be used as a specimen tree or as a screen. —A. Diamond.

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Native FACW (NWPL)

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