Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Pinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (4/24/22):
Pinus pungens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
NEW! Click to 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
Learn more about Pinus from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Pinus pungens has a distinctive habit as compared to other "fire pines" with which it often grows (P. rigida, P. echinata, P. virginiana). While most pines develop a gnarled crown of twisted and repeatedly forking branches with cones scattered throughout, P. pungens tends to have long, straight, nearly horizontal branches with whorls of cones. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus pungens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Pinus pungens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-007:
Pinus pungens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus pungens
COMMON NAME:
Table Mountain Pine, Bur Pine, Hickory Pine, Prickly Pine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pipu5_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_pungens
March
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_pungens_2
March
Adapted to release seed from serotinous cones after fire, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_pungens_3
March
Bark thin, dark reddish-brown, furrowed into scaly plates on older trunks, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide.
)
JK Marlow jkm0506d_06
June Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Usually a small-to-medium tree of rocky slopes and ridge tops, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge.
)
Keith Bradley kab_pinus_pungens_0515
June Burke County NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
Keith Bradley kab_pinus_pungens_0521
June Burke County NC
Pisgah National Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0509i_08
September Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Often numerous persistent closed cones (serotinous - open with heat of fire). — Patrick McMillan
)
JK Marlow s050918_a
September Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Two twisted stout yellow-green needles per fascicle, 1.5-3.5" long. — Patrick McMillan
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmppungens_ab
Month Unknown Alleghaney County NC
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (4/24/22):
Pinus pungens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus pungens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Pinus pungens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-007:
Pinus pungens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus pungens
1089
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Piedmont), endemic to the Central & Southern Appalachians
Habitat: Dry ridges, cliffs, shale barrens, usually requiring fire for its reproduction, occurring at least up to 1550 m, per Weakley's Flora
NEW! Click here to see a map from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US showing range and abundance.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Needles 1.5-2.5" long (normally)
Needles 2 per bundle
"FLOWER":
Spring
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Cone
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p169
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America p346
- Landscaping with Native Trees p173
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide p270
- Trees of the Southeastern United States p032
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p01
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont p249
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide p239