Eastern White Pine
(Pinaceae Pinus strobus)
Adopted in 1955.
The towering white pine,
Pinaceae Pinus strobus,
is a symbol of one of
Michigan's greatest
industries--lumbering. From
1870 to the early 1900s,
Michigan led the nation in
lumber production. During
those years a transportation
network and communities grew
across the state to
accommodate the lumber boom.
Public Act 7 of 1955
designated the white pine as
the state tree.
Eastern white pine
also called northern white
pine, is one of the most
valuable trees in eastern
North America. Before the
arrival of white men, virgin
stands contained an
estimated 3.4 billion m³
(600 billion fbm) of lumber.
By the late 1800's most of
those vast stands had been
logged. Because it is among
the more rapid growing
northern forest conifers, it
is an excellent tree for
reforestation projects,
landscaping, and Christmas
trees and has the
distinction of having been
one of the more widely
planted American trees.
Description:
- Leaf:
Evergreen, 3 to 5 inches
long, with five
blue-green, slender
needles per fascicle. A
fascicle sheath is not
present. Needles appear
blue because of 3 or
more lines of stomata.
- Flower:
Monoecious; males
cylindrical, yellow, in
clusters near branch
tips; females light
green, tinged in red, at
ends of branches.
- Fruit: Cones
are 4 to 7 inches long,
cylindrical, with thin,
rounded cone scales,
very resinous. Cones are
borne on a long stalk.
Maturing August to
September.
- Twig:
Slender, gray-green to
orange-brown in color.
- Bark: On
young trees; thin,
smooth and gray-green in
color. Later becoming
thick, reddish-brown to
gray-brown with
prominent ridges and
furrows.
- Form: A large
tree with a very
straight stem. The crown
is conical when young,
later developing wispy,
horizontal branches.
Taxonomic
Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae --
Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta --
Vascular plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta –
Seed plants |
Division |
Coniferophyta –
Conifers |
Class |
Pinopsida – |
Order |
Pinales – |
Family |
Pinaceae – Pine
family |
Genus |
Pinus L.
– pine |
Species |
Pinus strobus
L. – eastern
white pine |
Source:
Dendrology at
Virginia Tech
U.S. Department of
Agriculture
|