Scrub pine, Ai song, Virginia pine
Pinus virginiana
Family: Pinaceae
What it is like
A tree up to 20 m tall. The trunk is 50 cm across. The bark is grey brown. It becomes scaly and has plated layers. The crown can be rounded or flattened. The young branches have red or purple tinges. There are 2 needles per bundle. They are deep to pale yellow-green. They are strongly twisted. They are 2-8 cm long by 1-1.5 mm wide. The seed cones have short stalks. They are oval when open and dull red brown. Seeds are pale brown and with darker mottles. They are 4-7 mm across.
There are over 100 species of Pinus.
Where it is found
It is a temperate plant. It is cultivated in China. It grows in the USA near Missippi from 30-760 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 4-9.
Countries/locations it is found in
Australia, China, North America, USA
How it is used for food
Edible parts
Seeds
How it is grown
Cones take 2 years to mature.