Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Pinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Pinus virginiana
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
P. virginiana has such small needles that they look “scrawny” and malnourished, in comparison with other pines; the crowns are so open that there is seldom any cover for animals in the trees, nor any shade provided by these trees on the ground. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
A small, scrubby pine, occurring in very dense, monospecific stands in the upper Piedmont as a result of secondary succession of old fields, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus virginiana
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pinus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Pinus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2 (1993)
Pinus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-010:
Pinus virginiana FAMILY Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus virginiana
COMMON NAME:
Virginia Pine, Scrub Pine, Jersey Pine, Possum Pine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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JK Marlow jkm191222_2378_p_virginia
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_059
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pivi2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm190112_6296
January Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm230228_1333
February Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
The ascending, narrow, short-needled branches give its crown a spiky appearance from a distance, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm230228_1334
February Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Virginia pine cone scales' lower side and outermost portion have a distinct dark purple band, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm230228_1337
February Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Cones 1.5-2.5" long, with a slender persistent prickle on each scale, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm230328_2137
March Pickens County SC
Glassy Mountain Heritage Preserve
Gall?
)
Gill Newberry gn04_p_virginiana_female
April
Seed cones maturing in 2 yrs, persisting to 5 yrs, w slender, stiff prickles, per Flora of North America.
)
Gill Newberry gn04_p_virginiana_males
April
Pollen cones ellipsoid-cylindric, 10-20mm, red-brown or yellow, per Flora of North America.
)
JK Marlow jkm210406_9213
April Greenville County SC
Blackwell Heritage Preserve
This individual is unusually straight and clean for Virginia Pine.
)
JK Marlow s050416_e
April Greenville County SC
Furman University
Needles in a cluster of 2, rather stiff and twisted, normally 1.5-2.5" long, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_virginiana_73647
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock State Park
Cones open at maturity, but persist for at least several years, per Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988).
)
Keith Bradley kab_p_virginiana_73654
May Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm100618_045
June Cherokee County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm230606_3863
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Needles nearly always 2 per bundle, mostly 3-7cm, strongly twisted, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm230606_3864
June Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
Three generations of cones...
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_virginiana_2
July
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_virginiana_3
July
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_virginiana_1
September DeKalb County AL
Little River Canyon
)
JK Marlow jkm0210f_18a
October Oconee County SC
Loblolly Pine in front, Virginia Pine in back.
)
JK Marlow jkm0410k_25
October Greenville County SC
Field
Virginia Pine on left, Loblolly Pine on right.
)
Gill Newberry gn11_pinus_v_bark
November
Bark thicker on lower trunk than on upper, with grayish scaly ridges, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Gill Newberry gn11_pinus_v_old_trunks
November
Trunk long and frequently crooked and lined with dead branches, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_virginiana
November
The small, thin, curling, orangish & purplish-brown bark plates are distinctive for P. virginia, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Pinus virginiana
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus virginiana
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Pinus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Pinus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 2
Pinus virginiana
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-010:
Pinus virginiana
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus virginiana
1096
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Dry forests and woodlands, especially on slopes and ridges, also common in certain areas as a weedy successional tree on nearly any kind of site, such as rocky, sandy, or clayey successional old fields or blowdowns, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p039
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p304
- 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) p348
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p171
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p276
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p88
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p032
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p01
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p252
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p239
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