Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Pinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Pinus echinata
FAMILY
Pinaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
and The Pines of South Carolina
This is a familiar, rather large tree. It normally does not form solid stands anywhere, but it is usually seen mixed with other pines or with hardwoods. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Where their ranges overlap, P. echinata often co-occurs with, and is sometimes confused with, P. virginiana. Both species have short needles and small cones that tend to persist on the trees. From a distance, P. echinata has a "fuzzy" look with a rounded crown, and lacks the slender "spiky" branches of P. virginiana projecting at angles upwards from the crown. Learn other differences in Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus echinata
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pinus echinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Pinus echinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2 (1993)
Pinus echinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-008:
Pinus echinata FAMILY Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus echinata
COMMON NAME:
Shortleaf Pine, Yellow Pine, Rosemary Pine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p06
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2365_p_echinata
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_058
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_piec2_001_lvd
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Alan S. Weakley asw_1214875099447734
January
Such a noble and beautiful Southeastern "fire pine". — Alan Weakley
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JK Marlow jkm130128_181
January Spartanburg County SC
Mature bark: irregular flat-topped plates scaling off in thin layers, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
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Keith Bradley kab_pinus_echinata_0264
January Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
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JK Marlow jkm0402d_26
February Greenville County SC
Furman University
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JK Marlow jkm130330_523
March Spartanburg County SC
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JK Marlow jkm130330_525
March Spartanburg County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm130330_527b
March Spartanburg County SC
Cones ovoid, 1.5-2.5" long, opening at maturity but remaining on tree, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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JK Marlow jkm130407_974
April Columbia County GA
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JK Marlow jkm200428_4363
April Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm200428_4365
April Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow s050416_d
April Greenville County SC
Furman University
Needles usually 2 (sometimes 3) per bundle, 2.5-4" long, usually straight, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_echinata_3
July
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_echinata_4
July
Mature seed cones almost stalkless; the prickles often deciduous, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_echinata_5
July
A rounded treetop of lateral to upward-facing branches holding thick upturned clumps of needles, per Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_echinata_51
July
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JK Marlow jkm170826_785
August Spartanburg County SC
)
Gill Newberry gn09_pinus_echinata
September
A tree to 70-100' tall and 2-3' in diameter, long-lived (to 400 years old), per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_echinata
October
Flat irregular plates often have numerous, small, conspicuous resin pockets, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Gill Newberry gn11_p_echinata_cone_and_
November
Sometimes confused with P. virginiana because both have short needles and small persistent cones, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
)
JK Marlow jkm071101_026
November Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Bark is red-brown, with broad plates, resin pockets between the bark layers, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm071101_028
November Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Note the resin ducts in the bark. — Patrick McMillan
)
JK Marlow jkm071101_031
November Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
The bole is frequently long and clear of branches, the crown rather small, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_echinata_2
November
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Pinus echinata
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus echinata
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pinus echinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Pinus echinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2
Pinus echinata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-008:
Pinus echinata
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus echinata
1086
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Dry to dry-mesic upland forests and woodlands, rocky ridges and slopes, glades, bluffs, Coastal Plain sandhills, old fields, riparian forests, generally in rather xeric sites and on acid soils, but also occurring in mesic to even wet sites and on mafic or subcalcareous rocks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Needles 2.5-4" long
Needles usually 2 (sometimes 3) per bundle
"FLOWER":
Spring
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Cone
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p037
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p302
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p185
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p194
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p342
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p174
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p264
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p88
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p031
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p01
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p248
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p241
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