Jack pine
- Latin name: Pinus banksiana Lamb.
- French name: Pin gris
- Synonym(s): Banksian pine gray pine , scrub pine
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 183319
Description
Leaves
Form
- Needles evergreen
- In bundles of 2
- Straight or slightly twisted, stiff
- Sharp-pointed, spread apart
- Edges toothed
- Bundle-sheath persistent
Length
- 2–4 cm
Colour
- Light yellowish-green
Buds
Form
- Blunt-pointed, resinous
Length
- To 15 mm
Colour
- Pale reddish-brown
Twigs
Form
- Slender, ridged and grooved
- Vigorous shoots on young trees usually with 1 or more intermediate nodes bearing loose whorls of side branches
Colour
- Yellowish-green becoming dark greyish-brown in second season
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Variable in shape
- Oblong to conical, asymmetrical
- Straight or curved inward
- Stalkless, usually pointing forward
- Often in clusters of 2 or 3 at nodes
- Usually remaining closed and persistent on the tree for 10–20 years
Length
- 3–7 cm
Colour
- Yellowish-brown when mature
Structure
- 80 scales, thickened at the tips
- Smooth (sometimes with a minute prickle)
- Held closed by a resin bond
Timing
- Open when exposed to heat from a wildfire or sometimes from direct sunlight on warm days
Seeds
Form
- Often ridged
Length
- Seed 3 mm
- Seed wing about 10 mm
Colour
- Dark brown or black
Seedlings
Form
- 3–6 cotyledons, toothless
Lenght
- 12–24 mm
Bark
Form
- Thin when young, becoming flaky
- With age furrowed into irregular thick plates
Colour
- Reddish-brown to grey when young, becoming dark brown
Wood
Texture
- Moderately hard and heavy, weak
Colour
- Light brown
Uses
- General construction, wood pulp, railway ties, poles, pilings, and mine timbers
Size
Height
- To 20 m, occasionally larger
Diameter
- To 30 cm
Maximum age
- 150 years
Tree form
Open-grown
Trunk
- Tapered
Crown
- Conical, open
- Branches ascending, arching
Forest-grown
Trunk
- Slender, straight, with little taper
Crown
- Short
Root system
- Wide-spreading, moderately deep
- Often with a taproot
Habitat
Site
- Coarse sands, shallow soils, and rock out-crops, permafrost
- On poor soils and rocky sites, tree short, often twisted, with long stout branches, some dead or dying, giving the crown an unkempt appearance
- After extensive fires, jack pine may occupy all sites from ridge tops to muskegs
Light tolerance
- Intolerant of shade
Associated species
- Grows in pure stands or mixed with other shade-intolerant species such as white birch, trembling aspen, balsam poplar, red pine, and tamarack
- Shade-tolerant species such as black spruce, white spruce, and balsam fir often form the understory
Range
Most widely distributed pine in Canada
Photos
Photos
Anthony Scullion
Anthony Scullion
Anthony Scullion
Anthony Scullion
Anthony Scullion
Anthony Scullion
Insects and mites
Insects that cause damage to this tree.
-
Pales weevil
Scientific name: Hylobius pales (Herbst)
-
Pine false webworm
Scientific name: Acantholyda erythrocephala (L.)
Cones or seeds
-
Fir coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria abietivorella (Grote)
-
Jack pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura pinus pinus Freeman
-
Red pine cone beetle
Scientific name: Conophthorus resinosae Hopkins
-
Western pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
Foliage or buds
-
Eastern pine shoot borer
Scientific name: Eucosma gloriola Heinrich
-
European pine sawfly
Scientific name: Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy)
- Feralia comstocki Grote
-
Fir coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria abietivorella (Grote)
-
Gray spruce looper
Scientific name: Caripeta divisata Walker
-
Green larch looper
Scientific name: Semiothisa sexmaculata (Packard)
-
Introduced pine sawfly
Scientific name: Diprion similis (Hartig)
-
Jack pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura pinus pinus Freeman
-
Jack pine resin midge
Scientific name: Cecidomyia resinicola (Osten Sacken)
-
Lodgepole terminal weevil
Scientific name: Pissodes terminalis (Hopping)
-
Metallic pitch blister moth
Scientific name: Petrova metallica (Busck)
-
Northern pitch twig moth
Scientific name: Petrova albicapitana (Busck)
-
Pine false webworm
Scientific name: Acantholyda erythrocephala (L.)
-
Pine measuringworm moth
Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
-
Pine needle scale
Scientific name: Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch)
-
Pine needle sheathminer
Scientific name: Zelleria haimbachi Busck
-
Pine shoot beetle
Scientific name: Tomicus piniperda (L.)
-
Pine tortoise scale
Scientific name: Toumeyella parvicornis (Cockerell)
-
Pine zale
Scientific name: Zale duplicata (Bethune)
- Protoboarmia porcelaria (Guenee)
-
Red pine cone beetle
Scientific name: Conophthorus resinosae Hopkins
-
Redheaded pine sawfly
Scientific name: Neodiprion lecontei (Fitch)
-
Small pine looper
Scientific name: Eupithecia palpata Pack.
-
Spruce climbing cutworm
Scientific name: Syngrapha alias (Ottolengui)
-
Spruce spider mite
Scientific name: Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi)
-
Swaine jack pine sawfly
Scientific name: Neodiprion swainei Middleton
-
Western pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
-
Western pine elfin
Scientific name: Callophrys eryphon (Boisduval)
-
White pine weevil
Scientific name: Pissodes strobi (Peck)
-
Whitetriangle leafroller
Scientific name: Clepsis persicana (Fitch)
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Diseases caused by pathogens
Diseases caused by pathogens that cause damage to this tree.
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
-
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
-
Brown cubical sap rot
Pathogen name: Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen: Fr.) P. Karst.
-
Diplodia blight
Pathogen name: Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel
-
Elytroderma disease
Pathogen name: Elytroderma deformans (Weir) Darker
Cones or seeds
-
Sirococcus Shoot Blight
Pathogen name: Sirococcus conigenus (Dc.) Cannon & Minter
-
Western gall rust
Pathogen name: Cronartium harknessii E. Meinecke
Foliage or buds
-
Diplodia blight
Pathogen name: Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel
-
Elytroderma disease
Pathogen name: Elytroderma deformans (Weir) Darker
-
Needle cast (Lophodermium pinastri )
Pathogen name: Lophodermium pinastri (Shrad.:Fr.) Chev.
-
Pine needle cast
Pathogen name: Lophodermella concolor (Dearn.) Darker
-
Sirococcus Shoot Blight
Pathogen name: Sirococcus conigenus (Dc.) Cannon & Minter
-
Tar spot needle cast
Pathogen name: Davisomycella ampla (J.J. Davis) Darker
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Annosus root and butt rot (Heterobasidion irregulare)
Pathogen name: Heterobasidion irregulare (Underw.) Garbel. & Otrosina
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
Pitted sap rot
Pathogen name: Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden (Common names for this fungus: purple conk fungus, purple-toothed polypore)
Schweinitzii butt rot
Pathogen name: Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat. (Common names for the fungus: velvet-topped polypore, dyer’s polypore)
Scleroderris canker North American strain
Pathogen name: Gremmeniella abietina var. NA (Lagerberg) Morelet
Scleroderris canker, European strain
Pathogen name: Gremmeniella abietina var. Eu (Lagerberg) Morelet
Distribution map
