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Pinaceae FAMILY Endangered

Pinus palustris

Pinus palustris

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The wood, sawdust and resins from various species of pine can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Pinus palustris is not a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures down to around -10°c when fully dormant. It grows best in areas with hot summers. In areas with cooler summers (even if the winters are mild), such as the maritime regions of the temperate zone, it often grows poorly, failing to properly ripen its wood and suffering frost damage over the winter[2, 3]. Pine species in general require a sunny position if they are to grow well and, whilst the different species have their own soil preferences, most will thrive in a light well-drained sandy or gravelly loam[4, 2]. Dislikes poorly drained moorland soils[4]. Established plants tolerate drought[3]. There are, however, some trees that were 15 metres tall in south-eastern England in 1970[5]. Trees in the wild grow slowly, taking about 150 years to reach maximum size and living 200 - 300 years[6]. This is one of several Pinus species that have a juvenile life stage. After germinating, the seedlings produce secondary foliage but the central shoot does not elongate - at this stage the plant looks more like a bunchgrass than a pine. Especially when growing in shade, the plant can remain in this juvenile stage for several years, developing a large taproot but not increasing in height. If the light levels increase (due to removal of tree cover by fire, deforestation or some other reason) then the plant commences rapid height growth[7]. It is believed that this is a form of protection from forest fires since the heat might pass over the small tree without killing it and leaving it without much competition[PFAF]. The tree regenerates best in areas subject to low intensity forest fires - the juvenile young plants growing away quickly when light levels increase as a result of plants dying in the fire[8]. The ovoid-cylindrical seed cones are 15 - 25cm long. They take two years to mature, opening and shedding their seed whilst still attached to the tree[9, 10, 8]. Longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) is the state tree of North Carolina[8]. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly[3]. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus[3]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[3]. This species is notably resistant to fusiform rust[6].

Propagation

It is best to sow the seed in individual pots in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible otherwise in late winter. A short stratification of 6 weeks at 4°c can improve the germination of stored seed[11]. Plant seedlings out into their permanent positions as soon as possible and protect them for their first winter or two[2]. Plants have a very sparse root system and the sooner they are planted into their permanent positions the better they will grow[PFAF]. Trees should be planted into their permanent positions when they are quite small, between 30 and 90cm[3]. We actually plant them out when they are about 5 - 10cm tall. So long as they are given a very good weed-excluding mulch they establish very well[PFAF]. Larger trees will check badly and hardly put on any growth for several years. This also badly affects root development and wind resistance[3]. Cuttings. This method only works when taken from very young trees less than 10 years old. Use single leaf fascicles with the base of the short shoot. Disbudding the shoots some weeks before taking the cuttings can help. Cuttings are normally slow to grow away[12]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Pinus+palustris>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  2. [2]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  6. [6]The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. — Elias. T. · Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. · 1980 · ISBN 0442238622 ↩︎A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.
  7. [7]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  8. [8]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  9. [9]Manual of the Trees of N. America. — Sargent. C. S. · Dover Publications Inc. New York. · 1965 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ · ISBN 0-486-20278-X ↩︎Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  10. [10]Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada — Lauriault. J. · Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. · 1989 · ISBN 0889025649 ↩︎Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.
  11. [11]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  12. [12]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  13. [13]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  14. [14]An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada — Britton. N. L. Brown. A. · Dover Publications. New York. · 1970 · ISBN 0-486-22642-5 ↩︎Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book.
  15. [15]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  16. [16]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.
  17. [17]CosIng — http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/ ↩︎CosIng is the European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients.
  18. [18]Vegetable Gums and Resins. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · ISBN 81-88818-17-8 ↩︎A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
  19. [19]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  20. [20]Economic Botany. — Hill. A. F. · The Maple Press · 1952 · ISBN - ↩︎Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some detail about the plants it does cover.
  21. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎