Trees of Alabama and the Southeast Home Page

Needles are fascicled, in groups of 3 sometimes 2, about 4 inches long, evergreen, stout, sharp-pointed, blue-green to green, and twisted.  Twigs are red-brown and scaly with red-brown buds.  Bark is gray-brown and rough becoming red-brown and plated on large trees.  Small trees may show tufts of needles sticking out of the bark. Cones are about 3 inches long, gray-brown, armed with sharp prickles and serotinous.  Pitch pine can sprout after fire and is found on dry slopes and ridges in the eastern U.S. and as far south as northern Alabama.  The resinous wood is used for pulpwood and railroad ties.

Click on photo to enlarge.
All text and photographs are intended for educational purposes only and are not for commercial use in any form.  All photographs are copyrighted by the named photographer(s), text copyright by Lisa Samuelson. © 2005, all rights reserved. Photographs by Mike Hogan or Todd Langston.