Pinus virginiana Mill.

Virginia Pine; Scrub Pine; Jersey Pine

Tree

Perennial

Vascular

Virginia Pine is a native evergreen needle-leafed tree in the Pine family (Pinaceae). It occurs throughout Alabama. The original range was likely confined to areas north of the Coastal Plain, but Virginia Pine is widely planted throughout the state for Christmas trees, screens, and as windbreaks where it persists or spreads. It occurs in rocky woods, on roadsides, in old fields, in forest clearings, and in other disturbed habitats. It is a small to medium sized tree reaching heights of 60 feet. The trunk is straight or contorted and the bark is reddish-brown in color, fissuring into square or rectangular plates. The crown is irregularly rounded or flattened. The branches are ascending-spreading. Needle leaves occur in fascicles of 2. The leaves are 0.5-3 inches in length, strongly twisted, and yellowish-green in color. The leaves have inconspicuous stomatal lines and minutely serrulate margins. Pollen cones are 0.3-0.7 inches in length and red-brown in color. Seed cones are lanceoloid to lance-ovoid in outline, 1-3 inches in length, and red-brown in color. The seed cones are sessile or on stalks up to 0.3 inches in length. They mature in 2 years, and persist for up to 5 years after releasing the seed. The scales of the cone are armed with a sharp prickle. The seed are winged. Virginia Pine is a small and fast-growing tree that can form dense stands after disturbance. It can be shaped by pruning, and is a popular small ornamental tree. It can be used as a small specimen tree, for windbreaks, and for screens.—A. Diamond.

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Native G5 (Global Rank)

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