White Pine, Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus

Family: Pinaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows to 65 m tall. The trunk is 1.8 m across. The bark is dark brown and deeply furrowed. It has irregular oblong, long scaly plates. The crown is cone shaped but becomes rounded or flattened. There are 5 needles per bundle. They do not hang down and are deep green. They are slightly twisted and 6-14 cm long by 0.7-1 mm wide. They are not stiff. The seed cones are clustered and have a stalk. It is 2-3 cm long. The cones are grey brown with purple tints. They are 7-20 cm long. They take 2 years to mature then shed their seeds and fall. The seeds are red-brown with black mottle. They are broadly oval and 5-6 mm across. The wing is pale brown and 1.8-2.5 cm wide.

There are over 100 species of Pinus. The tea is rich in Vitamins A and C.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows naturally in woods at low altitude in North America. It is cultivated in N China. They can tolerate frost. It grows on light moist soils. It suits hardiness zones 3-9. Hobart Botanical Gardens.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Britain, Canada, Central America, China, Europe, Guatemala, Korea, Mexico, North America, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Scandinavia, Slovenia, Sweden, Tasmania, USA

How it is used for food

The inner bark is dried and pounded into small pieces and added to flour. It is then milled and used to bake bread. The fresh needles are brewed into tea. Caution: The tea should not be drunk in large amounts. It should not be drunk by pregnant women. The fresh new shoots are boiled in syrup to make candy. The firm unexpanded male cones are boiled or stewed with meat.

Edible parts

Seeds, bark, leaves - tea, cones, shoots

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed.

Trees grow rapidly. Trees can live 100-200 years. Cones take 2 years to mature.

Its other names

Local names

Bei mei qiao song, Gladki bor, Weymouth pine

Synonyms

Leucopitys strobus (L.) Nieuwl.; Pinus nivea Booth ex Carriere; and others