Marsh Pine Pinus serotina
Other Common Name(s):
Previously known as:
- Pinus alopecuroides
- Pinus rigida var. serotina
- Phonetic Spelling
- PY-nus se-roh-TEE-nuh
- Description
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This native plant grows in a full range of soil types, including damp and wet soil with poor drainage. Its form or habit is conical and often has crooked branching with a trunk diameter of about 1 to 2 ft. Its native habitat includes swamps, shallow bays, and ponds on the NC Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont. Its coarse, heavy wood is used for lumber and pulp.
The name, serotina means late, referring to the cones, which remain closed for years before opening. They will open often following a fire. In fact, it is particularly resistant to wildfires; after fires, the seedlings and trees will produce sprouts from the roots. It can even re-sprout after being entirely consumed by a fire, making the resulting clusters of needles on the trunk a very identifiable feature of this tree.
Insect, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: This tree is susceptible to wind damage.
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
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- Tags:
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Attributes:
- Genus:
- Pinus
- Species:
- serotina
- Family:
- Pinaceae
- Uses (Ethnobotany):
- Used for lumber and pulpwood and sawtimber
- Life Cycle:
- Woody
- Recommended Propagation Strategy:
- Root Cutting
- Seed
- Country Or Region Of Origin:
- Eastern seaboard, S. New Jersey to Florida
- Distribution:
- NJ southwest to AL, east to FL
- Fire Risk Rating:
- medium flammability
- Wildlife Value:
- This plant supports Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south. Adult Imperial Moths do not feed. This plant attracts birds, butterflies, moth larvae, and mammals.
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Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Native Plant
- Tree
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Habit/Form:
- Ascending
- Conical
- Open
- Rounded
- Spreading
- Growth Rate:
- Medium
- Texture:
- Medium
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Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
- Soil Texture:
- Loam (Silt)
- Sand
- Soil Drainage:
- Moist
- Occasionally Wet
- NC Region:
- Coastal
- Piedmont
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
- 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b
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Fruit:
- Fruit Color:
- Brown/Copper
- Gold/Yellow
- Display/Harvest Time:
- Summer
- Fruit Length:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Width:
- 1-3 inches
- Fruit Description:
- 2 to 3 in., light yellow-brown, globose cones, armed with a small spine, that have either a round or pointed tip. The scales are flat and the spine at the tip can easily come off. They only open in response to heat from a fire and stay on the tree for many years after. Fruit displays in August.
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Flowers:
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Spring
- Flower Description:
- Flowers bloom in April.
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Leaves:
- Woody Plant Leaf Characteristics:
- Needled Evergreen
- Leaf Color:
- Gold/Yellow
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Needles
- Leaf Shape:
- Linear
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- > 6 inches
- Leaf Description:
- Yellow-green 6 to 8 in. needles in bundles of 3 (3 per fascicle), sometimes 4. They are thin, flexible, and may grow with a slight twist, tufting at the ends. They fall off the tree after 3 to 4 years.
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Bark:
- Bark Color:
- Dark Brown
- Red/Burgundy
- Surface/Attachment:
- Ridges
- Shredding
- Bark Plate Shape:
- Irregular
- Rectangle
- Bark Description:
- Irregular furrowed/cross-checked into rectangular, flat, scaly plates. Dark brown bark that is broken into irregular, flattened, somewhat scaly plates.
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Stem:
- Stem Color:
- Orange
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
- Stem Surface:
- Covered with a powdery bloom (glaucous)
- Stem Description:
- The twigs are stout (yellow-orange) and glaucous. They darken as they age.
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Landscape:
- Landscape Theme:
- Native Garden
- Nighttime Garden
- Winter Garden
- Attracts:
- Moths
- Small Mammals
- Songbirds
- Resistance To Challenges:
- Deer
- Fire
- Wet Soil
