Eastern White Pine
Growth Habit
TreeBiocultural Value
The white pine is a national symbol of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy. It is revered throughout its range for the wide range of services it provides. Preparations of the pitch, young wood, bark, and knots were used to treat a wide range of dermatological problems, including boils, sores, splinters, and poison ivy rashes. A decoction of white pine was prescribed for coughs, colds, chest pain, rheumatism, and breathing problems. Thirty to forty foot long canoes were carved from the trunks and the wood used as lumber and fuel. Pitch from boiled cones and resin was used for caulking and waterproofing. The soft boughs could be covered with blankets and used a springy mattress. The Ojibwa cooked the young male cones and stewed them with meat and the Micmac brewed a beverage form the bark.
Wildlife Value
At least twenty different moths and eighteen other insects feed on white pine (and other Pinus species). These include some native insects, such as the pine spittlebug (Aphrophora cribatus) and pine needle scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae), in addtion to several introduced species, including the European pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifera) and pine false webworm (Acantholyda erythrocephala). Birds and small mammals eat the seeds. White-tailed deer and cottontail rabbits eat the branches and needles of young saplings. A wide variety of birds nest and roost in the cover of white pine trees.
Location
Bald Hill and Caroline Pinnacles, Edwards Lake Cliffs Preserve, Fall Creek Gorge, McDaniel Meadow, Woods, and Swamp, Purvis Road Wetlands Natural Area, Ringwood Ponds, Steep Hollow Creek, Tarr-Young Preserve, Mundy Wildflower GardenCultivation
Description
In youth a symmetrical pyramid of soft, pleasant appearance; in middle age and on old trees the crown iscomposed of several horizontal and ascending branches, gracefully plume-like in outline and very distinctive when compared to other conifers. Needles in 5's.
Source of plant
Cayuga Landscape Company, The Plantsmen, Treehaven Evergreen Nursery, John Ewanicki, Claude Heit, Mary Hirshfeld, Schichtel's Nursery, G & P Christmas Tree Farm & Nursery, Prides Corner Farms, Edgewood Nursery
