COMMON NAME: RED PINE
BOTANICAL NAME: Pinus resinosa Soland
Soil : Red pine occurs most often on well drained, dry, highly acid, sandy soils of outwash plains, and gravelly ridges.
Uses : Economic: Red pine wood is moderately hard and straight grained. It is grown primarily for the production of wood used for poles, lumber, cabin logs, railway ties, post, pulpwood, and fuel. This species is also planted and used as Christmas trees.
Landscaping & Wildlife: Red pine is an attractive tree that is used in recreational areas because of its colorful bark. This species provides cover for many species of mammals and birds. Deer, cottontails, and snowshoe hares browse songbirds, mice and chipmunks feed on the seed while seedlings.
Agroforestry: Pinus resinosa is used in tree strips for windbreaks. They are planted and managed to protect livestock, enhance crop production, and control soil erosion. Windbreaks can help communities with harsh winter conditions better handle the impact of winter storms and reduce home heating costs during the winter months and cooling cost in the summer.
Description: Red pine (Pinus resinosa) is a medium sized tree, up to twenty-five meters high and seventy-five centimeters in diameter. Dark green long needles with a fast growing habit. The leaves are soft and flexible evergreen needles, in clusters of two, slender, 4”-6” long, dark green borne in dense tufts at the ends of branchlets. The fruit is ovoid-conic, with thin scales, becoming light chestnut-brown at maturity. The bark is thick and slightly divided by shallow fissures into broad flat ridges covered by thin loose red-brown scales. The root system is moderately deep, wide spreading, and very wind firm. Red Pine does well in light, sand poor soil conditions and in dry locations.
