Virginia pine facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Virginia pine

Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Pinus
Species:	virginiana

Natural range

The Virginia pine (scientific name: Pinus virginiana) is also known as the scrub pine or Jersey pine. It's a medium-sized tree that often grows in places with poor soil. You can find it from Long Island in southern New York all the way south through the Appalachian Mountains to western Tennessee and Alabama.

These pines usually grow to be about 9 to 18 meters (30 to 60 feet) tall. But if they have perfect growing conditions, they can get even bigger! Their trunks can be as wide as 50 centimeters (20 inches). Virginia pines like soil that drains well, like loam or clay. However, they can also grow in very poor, sandy soil. In those spots, they usually stay smaller and don't grow as tall. Most Virginia pines live for about 65 to 90 years.

Their needles are short, about 4 to 8 centimeters (1.5 to 3 inches) long, and are yellow-green. They grow in pairs, called fascicles, and are often twisted. The pinecones are 4 to 7 centimeters (1.5 to 3 inches) long. They can stay on the tree for many years. Often, but not always, they release their seeds in their second year. Some Virginia pines might grow with twisted trunks.

This pine is great for replanting forests and provides food for wildlife. It's also often used on Christmas tree farms. Even though its needles have sharp tips and turn yellowish in winter, people still like it. The wood from Virginia pines can be used to make wood pulp for paper and also lumber. Like some other southern yellow pines, Virginia pine wood gets very hard when it dries. This wood doesn't usually resist rot well unless it's treated with special chemicals.

About the Virginia Pine
What Does It Look Like?
Pine Family Tree
Where It Grows
How People Have Used It
What's in a Name?
Modern Uses
Is It Endangered?
Gallery
See also

About the Virginia Pine

The Virginia pine is a type of pine tree. Besides Virginia pine, it's also called the scrub pine or Jersey pine. Its scientific name is Pinus virginiana. Other names it has been known by include Pinus inops, Pinus ruthenica, and Pinus turbinata.

The Virginia pine belongs to the Pinales order and the Pinaceae family. Pines are evergreen trees, meaning they keep their needles all year round. Scientists believe pines first appeared a very long time ago, between 153 million and 271 million years ago. The Virginia pine is a perennial tree, which means it lives for many years. It's also a gymnosperm. Gymnosperms produce seeds, but these seeds are not protected inside an ovary or fruit, and they don't have flowers.

What Does It Look Like?

The Virginia pine is easy to spot in the United States. A key feature is its needles: they are fairly short, twisted, and grow in bunches of two. These needles are usually between 2 and 8 centimeters long. The tree's bracts and bud scales have small hairs on them. The leaf sheath, which holds the needles together, is longer than 2.5 millimeters.

The cones of the Virginia pine only open after they are fully grown. The branches of the Pinus virginiana are flexible. They will bend without breaking when you put pressure on them. These trees typically grow between 9 and 18 meters tall. The bark of the Virginia pine is reddish-brown and tends to be rough with small scales.

The pollen cones, which produce pollen, are round or slightly oval. They are 10–20 millimeters in size and are usually the same color as the bark. Seed cones, which contain the seeds, are found all over the tree. The mature seed cones are much larger than the pollen cones, measuring 4–7 centimeters. The Virginia pine prefers to grow in poor soils and dry loam or clay. It can grow on sandy soil, but this often makes the tree smaller than average.

Pine Family Tree

The Virginia pine is part of the Pinaceae family and the Pinales order. Scientists use something called a "molecular phylogeny" to understand how different species are related. This shows that the closest relatives to the Virginia pine are the Pinus clausa (sand pine), Pinus contorta (lodgepole pine), and Pinus banksiana (jack pine).

Let's compare the Virginia pine to its relatives:

Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana): This pine has shorter needles, only 2–3.5 centimeters long, compared to the Virginia pine's 2–8 centimeters. Jack pine needles are curved, not twisted, and its cones are "serotinous" (meaning they need heat, like from a fire, to open) and don't have sharp points. The leaf sheaths on jack pines are less than 2.5 millimeters long. In contrast, Virginia pine needles are twisted and straight, their cones open when they are mature (not needing fire), and the cone scales have sharp prickles. The leaf sheaths of the Virginia pine are longer than 2.5 millimeters.
Sand Pine (Pinus clausa): This pine has larger needles than the Virginia pine. Its needles are between 5 and 13 centimeters long, while the Virginia pine's are 2 to 8 centimeters long. The sand pine is also serotinous, meaning its cones need heat to open.
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta): The Virginia pine and the lodgepole pine grow in different places. Virginia pines are found in the eastern United States, while lodgepole pines are found in the western United States. A cool thing they have in common is that the needles of both species are twisted.

Where It Grows

Virginia pines live in dry forest areas. You can find this tree in many states, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana, South Carolina, Maryland, and Delaware.

In places where the Virginia pine lives, it usually rains between 890 and 1400 millimeters (35 to 55 inches) each year. The average temperatures in the summer are between 21–24 degrees Celsius (70–75 degrees Fahrenheit). In winter, it's usually around -4 to 4 degrees Celsius (25–39 degrees Fahrenheit).

Virginia pines don't handle fire very well. However, if the tree is larger, it might be able to survive a fire. Young Virginia pines that grow in open areas can start producing cones when they are only 5 years old. Some trees have even been seen flowering as young as 18 months old!

Virginia pines are "monoecious," which means they have both male and female parts on the same tree. Some self-pollination can happen, but you usually need two trees to get a lot of seeds. It takes two full growing seasons for the cones to develop. Pollination happens 13 months after the cone starts to form, and the seeds are released the following autumn. Unlike some other pines, Virginia pines produce cones all over the tree, not just in certain spots.

Virginia pine has also been found growing naturally in southern Ontario, Canada.

How People Have Used It

Native American tribes, like the Cherokee Indians, used the Virginia pine for medicine. They used it to help with many problems, such as diarrhea, body stiffness, colds, fevers, hemorrhoids, tuberculosis, and constipation.

The Cherokee used the Virginia pine in different ways. They would bathe in water that had pine bark soaked in it, use steams and oils from the tree, and make infusions (like a tea) from the roots and needles. They also made tar from it.

The Virginia pine was also important in some cultural rituals. For example, in burial rituals, branches of the Virginia pine were burned. The ashes from this fire were then used to start a new fire in their homes. They would also infuse needles in apple juice and drink it as a "toast to the wind." Lastly, they used root infusions as a stimulant and the needles as a kind of soap.

What's in a Name?

The scientific name Pinus virginiana tells us a bit about the tree. Pinus is a Latin word that means "pine." And virginiana means "of Virginia," which is where the tree is commonly found.

Modern Uses

In the past, Virginia pine wood was used for things like mine timbers (supports in mines), railroad ties (the wooden beams under train tracks), and for fuel and tar.

Today, it's being planted in places where coal mining operations have stopped, to help the land recover. Virginia pine can also be used for wood pulp, which is what paper is made from, and for lumber. The wood weighs about 14 kilograms (32 pounds) per foot.

Is It Endangered?

The Virginia pine is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as a species of "least concern." This means that it is not currently in danger of disappearing. It's quite common because it's one of the first types of trees to grow in areas where land has been disturbed, like abandoned farms in the eastern United States.