Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)

White pine is a common conifer in Perry County, and all up and down the east coast, from Newfoundland to far-north Georgia, west to the Great Lakes region and into Minnesota, but barely existing in Illinois and Indiana. Below Pennsylvania, it barely exists outside the Appalachian mountain region. This tree used to grow in stands often, but due to timbering, much of the tree’s dominance is gone.

White pine is easily distinguishable from other pines by its long, thin, flexible pale green-grey needles. The cones are long and slender, and lighter brown than most pine cones, when fresh. When they are fresh, they are covered with globs of pine sap, sometimes small amounts, and sometimes almost completely, to the extent that they appear, from a distance, white.

In nearby Cumberland County, white pines are known to dominate South Mountain, which is part of the Appalachian mountains, and includes Pine Grove Furnace State Park, and Michaux State Forest.

It can grow to one hundred & fifty feet tall, making it the tallest conifer of the eastern forest.[1]

I could tarry a bit on research done on the vitamin C content of eastern white pine, but for brevity I will say only that both the needles and bark have been proven to be high in nutritional value and deserve high respect in the branch of woodland knowledge relating to survival and, in less bleak terminology, health.

Its cones are between four to eight inches long, and when fresh, they make good fire-starters because they are high in sap. Being high in sap also means that the tree is very useful for concealing your scent when hunting, and for, heated and with charcoal, creating glue. It is proven to be anti-bacterial, which means it is great as soap. You also can chew on the sap, which to me sounds unappetizing, but many people have done it. It is extremely sticky, so don’t get it on your hands if you don’t want it on you for hours.

The wood is one of the most commonly used softwoods in the world, and was epically important to the construction of the United States. Unfortunately, in the early 1800s most were harvested, and then again after making a come-back, they were harvested in the early 1900s.[4]

Its wildlife value is not very high. The seeds are ate by birds, and the young trees may provide cover for wildlife in the time when other trees are barren. Squirrels cache them. If they do not return, these can germinate, thus, squirrels help to spread eastern white pine.[4]

As for its ornamental/landscaping value, it is one of the most common conifers used in landscaping, and can be seen in yards and around offices.

Other names for this pine include white pine, northern white pine, soft pine, and, in Britain, Weymouth pine.[2][3]