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Vascular Flora of the Southeastern United States
Hardin, Massey, Radford, Thieret, eds.

Copyright - James W. Hardin, Ph. D., 1998, 1999. All Rights Reserved.


1.PINUS L. PINE


Evergreen trees initially conical, often becoming irregularly branched with a long, clear trunk and rounded or variously shaped crown. Leaves of two types. The primary leaves spirally arranged and reduced to small scales. Secondary leaves acicular (needle-like), borne in clusters of 2-5(6) on determinate short-shoots (forming a fascicle), and surrounded at the base by a persistent or caducous sheath of modified bud scales, the entire fascicle in the axil of a primary leaf and deciduous after 2 or more years. Pollen cones axillary, elongate-cylindrical. Ovulate or seed cones subterminal or lateral, relatively small the first spring (at pollination) and enlarging slightly before the second spring (at fertilization), then enlarging greatly to the mature size by that fall. Seed cones serotinous (remaining closed long after seeds are mature) or opening immediately at maturity , often persisting on the tree after seed drop; scales longer than the bracts, thickened or thin apically and the exposed part (apophysis) usually rhombic in outline, and often with a prominent terminal or lateral umbo terminated by a prickle, persisting on the cone axis.