Eastern white pine

Leaves

Form

• Needles evergreen
• Remaining on tree for 1–4 years
• In bundles of 5
• Slender, straight
• Triangular in cross-section
• Flexible, soft
• Edges finely toothed
• Bundle-sheath scales deciduous during first season

Length

• 5–15 cm

Colour

• Bluish-green with lines of white dots

Buds

Form

• Slender, sharp-pointed
• Scales overlapping

Length

• To 15 mm

Colour

• Reddish-brown

Twigs

Form

• Microshoot scars round or oval, set in a crescent-shaped leaf-cushion
• Hairy, becoming hairless in second season

Colour

• Green, becoming orange-brown in second season

Seed cones (mature)

Form

• Cylindrical
• Pendulous

Colour

• Yellowish-green to light brown when mature

Length

• 8–20 cm
• Stalk 2 cm

Structure

• Scales 50–80, usually in 5 spiral rows
• Thin, rounded at the tip, without prickles

Timing

• Seeds and cones shed soon after cones mature

Seeds

Form

• Mottled

Length

• Seed 5–8 mm
• Seed wing about 20 mm

Colour

• Reddish-brown

Seedlings

Form

• 6–11 cotyledons, minutely toothed
  

Length

• 20–30 mm

Bark

Form

• Thin, smooth when young
• With age broken into broad scaly ridges 2–5 cm thick, separated by deep longitudinal furrows

Colour

• Greyish-green when young, with age becoming dark greyish-brown

Wood

Texture

• Soft, light, moderately strong

Colour

• Creamy-white to yellow

Morphology

• Straight-grained, easily worked
• Heartwood moderately decay-resistant

Uses

• Patterns because of its low shrinkage and uniform texture
• Also doors, moldings, trim, siding, paneling, plywood, furniture, and cabinetwork

Size

Height

• To 30 m, occasionally larger

Diameter

• To 100 cm

Maximum age

• 200 years, occasionally older

Tree form

Open-grown

Crown

• In young trees, crown conical with regular whorls of branches
• Fast-growing
• In mature trees, crown irregular with a few long, stout branches set roughly at right angles to the trunk
• Branches in upper crown ascending, giving a broadly oval flat-topped outline
• Often becomes one-sided because of the prevailing wind

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Often branch-free for lower two-thirds of its height

Crown

• Columnar

Root system

• 3–5 moderately deep lateral roots
• Often sinker roots growing down from them

Habitat

Site

• Dry sandy soils and rocky ridges to sphagnum bogs
• Grows best on moist, sandy loam

Light tolerance

• Thrives in full sunlight
• Seedlings moderately shade-tolerant
• Can survive under an open canopy and attain full vigour if shade removed within 20 years

Associated species

• Usually mixed with other species