The Beautiful White Pine, Our State Tree

The pollen-bearing staminate (male) yellow flowers of White Pine emerge with the new shoots (candles) in mid-spring, and fertilize the nearby pistillate (female) flowers that become immature pinkish cones. White Pine is therefore a monoecious species, like all Pines.

By summer, the light green fruits (or cones) of White Pine show characteristic splotches of silvery-white that dapple their surfaces. With maturity, the six-inch long fruits become slightly curved, their scales reflex to release the hidden seeds, and the brown cones eventually fall to the ground. The slender cones of White Pine do not have prickles on the backside of their scales, as many pines do.

White Pine is distinctive as it reaches middle age, as its whorled branches and the spaces between them create a layered visual sight. With time, the top of the canopy becomes flat-topped or scalloped, and the middle of the canopy grows wider.

The gray-green bark of White Pine remains relatively smooth for a number of years, until it finally begins to develop furrows and ridges that are dark gray to dark brown. Sap drippings from the bark are often a common sight and turn white upon exposure to air.