Virginia Tech Dendrology

Virginia pine Pinaceae Pinus virginiana Mill. symbol: PIVI2
Leaf: Evergreen needles, 1 1/2 to 3 inches long, with 2 yellow-green, twisted, somewhat divergent needles per fascicle.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males cylindrical, yellow, near branch tip; females yellow to red, curved prickle present.
Fruit: Conical to ovoid cones are 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long, sessile and persistent, with red-brown scales and an umbo armed with a sharp, needle-like prickle, maturing in the fall.
Twig: Slender, green changing to purple-green with a glaucous bloom; buds gray-brown, narrowly ovoid.
Bark: Orange-brown and scaly on young trees; older stems develop thin, small, scaly plates, cinnamon colored patches often on upper parts of trunk.
Form: A small to medium sized tree reaching up to 70 feet tall, eventually develops a flat top sparse crown; dead, gray (sharply angled upwards) branch stubs are almost always present along the trunk.
Looks like: Table Mountain pine - shortleaf pine - jack pine - Scots pine

Additional Range Information: Pinus virginiana is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
More Information: Wood
External Links: USDAFS Silvics of North America - USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database - Horticulture Information - USDAFS Forest Products Lab
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information