Maine is known as the pine tree state, and our official state tree is the White Pine. It’s a most beautiful tree, but that’s not what this article is about. This is about a pine tree that not many people know of--the Pitch Pine tree. Pitch pines are native to eastern North America. They love dry, acidic, sandy soils, but can tolerate a bit of swampiness as well. Pitch pines are known for surviving and thriving in extremely difficult soil conditions, and this makes them perfect for Maine.
The needles of the pitch pine tree
are extremely sharp, much sharper than a little prick you might get from any
other pine tree. When you touch a pitch
pine needle, it’s unmistakable. What’s
even fiercer, though, is its fruit, the pitch pinecone. It is very difficult to pick up one of these
pinecones because they have terribly sharp thorns on them. As you can see in the picture, the pitch
pinecones have all the defense against creatures that they could possibly
need. No one is going to mess with these.
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| The dagger-sharp thorns of the pitch pinecone. |
Despite this, pitch pine heath
barrens are not very common, at least not anymore. Now other pines and deciduous trees threaten
their survival. In the past, naturally
occurring forest fires used to maintain the pitch pine forests by burning out
much of the competition. A unique
feature of the pitch pine is a very thick bark that protects the inner layer
from heat. Also, if the main trunk is
damaged by fire, it can resprout from “epicormic” buds, which are buds that lie
hidden underneath the bark. This is a very
unusual trait for a pine tree and shows its adaptation to forest fires. However, now that forest fires are often
controlled, the pitch pine heath barren has become a rare ecosystem that needs
to be protected by manually removing competitive trees.
The pitch pine is a survivor,
though. Fires and natural disasters do
little to bother it. It is not uncommon
to see a stunted, twisted pitch pine with multiple trunks reaching upward like
something out of a Halloween ghost story.
It is slow-growing with a very high resin content that preserves it from
decay. These qualities are all typical
New England characteristics (especially Maine): slow-growing, stubborn, sometimes abrasive,
cold-loving, strong, resourceful, and cunning.
Honestly, as pretty as the white pine is, I do believe that the pitch
pine ought to be the Maine
state tree!
Below is a picture of a sign describing some of the conservation efforts being done in the Town Commons of Brunswick. The Town Commons were a gift of 1,000 acres to the people of Brunswick, Maine from the Pejepscot Proprietors in the year 1719. The Town Commons are free and open to all.
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| Pitch pine restoration in the Brunswick Town Commons. |
