PINACEAE - - Pine Family

Pinus rigida P. Miller — Pitch Pine

Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) - Tree becoming 25 m. tall, with stiff branches, the bark very rough, the twigs yellow; leaves in 3's, bright-green, 6—12 cm. long, rather stout; sheath 10—15 mm. long; cone 4—7 cm. long, ovoid when closed, globose-ovoid or depressed when open, the scale appendages relatively thin, each with a recurved spine; seed 4—4.5 mm. long, the wing about 1.5 cm. long.

Habitat:

Southward primarily on dry ridges, more or less requiring fire for its reproduction, less commonly in peat soils of mountain bogs (and then often at elevations of 800-1000 m), northward (as in NJ) in acidic sandy and peaty soils near sea level, and also scattered through a variety of forest types. It is abundant near sea level in the Pine Barrens of NJ, but in NC is limited to the mountains and upper Piedmont; it is replaced in Coastal Plain fire-maintained wetland communities by the related Pinus serotina.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.