Pitch Pine

The Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is a small-to-medium sized (6-30 meters or 20-100 feet) pine, native to eastern North America. This species occasionally hybridizes with other pine species such as Loblolly Pine (P. taeda), Shortleaf Pine (P. echinata), and Pond Pine (P. serotina); the last is treated as a subspecies of Pitch Pine by some botanists.

The Pitch Pine (also known as the Garside Tree) is found mainly in the northeastern United States, from Maine and Ohio to Kentucky and northern Georgia. A few stands occur in southern Quebec and Ontario. This pine occupies a variety of habitats from dry, acidic sandy uplands to swampy lowlands, and can survive in very poor conditions; it is the primary tree of the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

The needles are in fascicles of three, about six-13 cm in length, and are stout (over one mm broad) and often slightly twisted. The cones are four-seven cm long and oval with prickles on the scales. Unusual for pines, if the main trunk is cut or damaged by fire it can re-sprout using epicormic shoots. This is one of its many adaptations to fire, which also includes a thick bark to protect the sensitive cambium layer from heat. Burnt trees often form stunted, twisted trees with multiple trunks as a result of the resprouting. This characteristic also makes it a popular species for bonsai.

The Pitch Pine is not a major timber tree, due to the frequency of multiple or crooked trunks; nor is it as fast-growing as other eastern American pines. However, it grows well on unfavourable sites. In the past, it was a major source of pitch and timber for ship building, mine timbers, and railroad ties because the wood's high resin content preserves it from decay. Pitch Pine wood was also used for building radio towers in Germany as at Muehlacker and at Ismaning. Nowadays the Pitch Pine is used mainly for rough construction, pulp, crating, and fuel. However, due to its uneven growth, quantities of high quality can be very sought after, and large lengths of pitch pine can be very costly.