Virginia Tech Dendrology

eastern white pine Pinaceae Pinus strobus L. symbol: PIST
Leaf: Evergreen needles, 3 to 5 inches long, with five, slender, flexible needles per fascicle; fascicle sheath deciduous, needles appear blue-green because of 3 or more glaucous lines of stomata.
Flower: Species is monoecious; males cylindrical, yellow, in clusters near branch tips; females light green, tinged in red, at ends of branches.
Fruit: Cones are 4 to 7 inches long, cylindrical, with thick, rounded cone scales, very resinous, borne on a long stalk and maturing in late summer.
Twig: Slender, gray-green to orange-brown in color; buds long, ovoid, reddish brown.
Bark: On young trees, thin, smooth and gray-green with some lighter splotty patches; later becoming thick, reddish brown to gray-brown with prominent finely scaly, rounded, long ridges and darker furrows.
Form: A large tree with a very straight trunk often reaching well over 100 feet in height. The crown is conical when young, later developing wispy, horizontal, upturning branches.
Looks like: Himalaya pine - western white pine

Additional Range Information: Pinus strobus 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