Jack pine
Pinus banksiana

Family: Pinaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 25 m tall. The trunk is 0.6 m across. The trunk tapers and the crown is cone shaped. The bark is orange or red-brown. It is scaly. The crown can be flat topped or irregularly rounded. The small branches are orange red. There are 2 needles per bundle. They are yellow green and twisted. They are 2-5 cm long by 1-1.5 mm wide. The edges are finely toothed. The seed cones curve upwards. They are pale brown or greenish yellow. They are oval when open. They are unequal in shape. They are 3-5.5 cm long. They then shed seeds but sometimes only with age or fire. The seeds are brown or nearly black and compressed. They are 4-5 mm across.

There are over 100 species of Pinus.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is cultivated in China. In Canada it grows in exposed places on poor soils in the Rocky Mountains. It suits hardiness zones 2-8. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Canada, China, Korea, North America, Tasmania, USA

How it is used for food

The inner bark is sweet and succulent when the sap is running in spring. It is eaten fresh or dried. The seeds are eaten A tea if made from the needles. It needs sweetening with sugar, honey or maple syrup.

Edible parts

Flowers, seeds, bark

How it is grown

The cones open after fire.

Seed crops begin at 5-10 years of age and occur almost every year afterwards. Cones mature in 2 years. Trees can live for 150 years.

Its other names

Local names

Bei mei duan ye song, Banksia pine, Grey pine, Scrub pine

Synonyms

Pinus divaricata (Ait.) Dum.Cours.;