The Tree

Pitch Pine is one of the smaller hard pines, attaining a height of 40 to 70 feet with a trunk diameter of from 12 to 30 inches.
Usually it is quite symmetrical, its limb structure and crown resembling a hardwood rather than the straight-stemmed pines. Frequently the branches are contorted, irregular and heavy. The bark on mature trees is one to one and a half inches thick, dark reddish-brownand deeply furrowed into irregular thick scales. The needles are stiff, sharply pointed and wide, two to five inches long in bundles of three and are of a yellowish-green color. The cones which remain on the tree for several years are one and a half to three inches long with wide base, thick scales, prickly pointed. The tree is exceedingly fire resistant although it contains a considerable supply of pitch, which gives the tree its name.

Common Names in Use

• Pitch Pine (Vt, N.H., Mass., R.I., Conn., N.Y., N.J., Pa., Del., W.Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Ohio, Ontario, Md., Eng.)
• Black Pine (N.C.)
• Black Norway Pine (N.Y.)
• Hard Pine (Mass.)
• Long-leaf Pine (Del.)
• Longschat Pine (Del.)
• Mountain Pine (N.C.)
• Pennsylvania Yellow Pine (Pa.)
• Red Pine (N.Y.)
• Ridge Pine (N.C.)
• Rigid Pine (Eng., lit.)
• Sap Pine (lit)
• Shortleaf Pine (Ga.)
• Southern Pine (Trade)
• Southern Yellow Pine
• Yellow Pine (Pa., Ga.)

Growth Range

The growth range of Pitch Pine extends from Maine southward along the slopes of the Allegheny Mountains to northern Georgia, and westward from New York to the eastern Great Lakes region, thence southward through eastern Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

The Wood

The wood of the Pitch Pine has a very high resin content, is coarse-grained, soft, non-porous, brittle, and has a reddish-yellow heartwood. The sapwood is wide, light yellow or nearly white in color and is very susceptible to blue stain in seasoning.

Uses

The lumber of the Pitch Pine is usually marketed with the other pines, particularly the southern pines. It is used for rough general construction, fencing, paper pulp, boxes, crating, railroad ties and other general uses. It is somewhat “gummy” to work with because of the heavy pitch content, but takes paint well.

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