These two Virginia pines (Pinus virginiana) stand at the end of the pasture.
The local name for these trees is “jack pine,” but it shouldn’t be confused with the real jack pine, which is found in Canada, the Great Lakes region, and parts of northern New England.
It’s a common tree in the pine barrens of New Jersey, where it’s called the Jersey pine.
Along w/ Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperis virginiana), these ‘short-leaf’ pines are considered by many old-timers to be short-lived, trash trees. But they grow tremendously well in the sandy soils of eastern MD and like the Red Cedar are one of the first pioneers (along w/ Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia ) and the native cherries–Wild Black Cherry (Prunus serotina); Pin Cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica); & Choke Cherry (P. virginiana)–to begin reforestation of disturbed tracts of land here in the Mid-Atlantic states.
Yes, and I’m about to add one more of the pioneer trees.
But I don’t think it grows in eastern MD.
If you’re referring to P. viriginiana, then, they do indeed grow in eastern MD. The list of native pines in eastern MD (to include the Delmarva and the western shore of the Chesapeake) includes at least: Pinus echinata or Shortleaf Pine, Pinus rigida or Pitch Pine, Pinus serotina or Pond Pine, Pinus taeda or Loblolly Pine, and Pinus virginiana or Virginia Pine. Interestingly, here in the Piedmont, around Sykesville (S. Carroll Co./N. Howard Co.) w/ its clay-loam soils, these native pines are rarely seen, the most common conifers being Red Cedars, Hemlocks and White Pines. (I’ve planted Pitch Pines, Austrian Pines and Scotch Pines, but they don’t live very long here–fungus get ‘em.) But when you get down around Ft. Meade and east, where its very sandy, these native pines tend to dominate the edges of the wooded areas and road verges.
I was referring to quaking aspen.
Ah so, my apologies. In that case your are correct.
Another interesting thing about the aspens is that a large grove can actually be a monoclonal stand–one tree with many, many trunks.
I used to marvel at this feature. There were big tooth aspens in my grandpa’s backyard when i was growing up, and he had to cut back all the pioneers that would come up all the time.
The same is true of Black Locust. We didn’t have them in Chicago (Ailanthus Mulberry, American Elm, Horse Chestnut and Cottonwood were the most common street trees), but my wife still complains about having to pull up all the Locust suckers in the backyard when she was a kid. I have a fairly large grove of them in the back of my old pasture, courtesy of trees my neighbor planted many years ago. His are gone but mine are still flourishing.
Did you ever see the sound study that was made on trees? They called it a Z wave.
Not wishing to nit pick, but scotch is whisky and the tree is a scots pine, our only native pine as far as I’m aware. It was one of the first trees to return after the last ice age. However, the once vast caledonian forest consisting of mainly this species and the silver birch is now but a remnant in Scotland, the remainder of uncultivated land there being heather moorland, scrub and rock terrain. Forest will only satisfactorily regenerate once the sheep and red deer population is in better balance, which I think will happen – eventually.
Lots of non native pines, though, for timber and decorative purposes. We have several species in our garden, one of my favourites being the dwarf mountain species pinus mugo, especially the two which adorn our decking as bonsai. At twenty years old probably now quite valuable, I’m told.
Nope, being of Scots-Irish extraction on my Dad’s side, I’m very careful in my use of the term. Here in the States the correct usage is always ‘Scotch Pine’. (You say Tomahto while I say Tomato, LOL.)