PITCH PINE
Pinus rigida, Mill.
Form.—Usually 50-60 feet high, 1-2½ feet in diameter; trunk not straight, tapering; crown rounded, usually open; limbs coarse, gnarled, with thick bark, and persistent old cones.
Leaves.—In clusters of three; stout, rigid, somewhat twisted, often standing at right angles with the branches; yellow-green.
Flowers.—Appear April-May; monoecious; the staminate in crowded spikes, at base of new growth, yellow; the pistillate short-stalked, nearly round, green tinged with rose.
Fruit.—Cones maturing autumn of second year; ovoid, often clustered, divergent from stem, 1-3 inches long, adhering for several years; scales thin, armed with stiff recurved prickles; triangular seeds ¼ inch long with wing ¾ inch long, one-third inch wide, dark brown to black, sometimes spotted with gray or red dots.
Bark.—Twigs green becoming dull orange and then gray-brown with age; trunk with rough, thick, deeply-and irregularly-furrowed, red-brown bark.
Wood.—Light, soft, brittle, coarse-grained, durable, resinous; with thick yellowish sapwood.
Range.—New Brunswick and Lake Ontario, south to Georgia, and west to the Alleghany foothills of West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Distribution in West Virginia.—Found locally in the following counties: Boone, Braxton, Berkeley, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Jefferson, Kanawha, Logan, Mercer, Monroe, Mingo, Nicholas, Preston, Pocahontas, Randolph, Roane, Summers, Tyler and Wayne. Rare in McDowell, Wyoming, and Webster.
Habitat.—Prefers dry sandy soils of hillsides, sometimes found in swamps.
Notes.—This is our only native pine having all the leaves in bundles of three. It is of much less value than the White Pine but wall often grow where other pines will not. and is resistant to fire. Wood used chiefly for mine props, fuel, charcoal, boxes, crates, and construction. Tar is sometimes made from this wood, and the resin-filled knots and wood are excellent for kindling fires.