Virginia Pine
Perhaps the most common naturally growing pine tree in GuilfordCounty is the Virginia Pine, also known commonly as the Scrub pine.
You see them everywhere.
Virginia Pines tend to invade open fields the quickest of any other tree in our area, they thus are often are found growing in rather thick groves, almost thicket like. Because Virginia pines do not shed their lower limbs as easily as other pines, they are characterized by limb stubs of varying length all the way up the trunk. Both of these qualities contribute to the Virginia Pine being called “scrub pine.”
Virginia pine needles are short, not quite 2 inches, and slightly twisted, and slightly flattened. They grow in pairs, two to a sheath. They are fairly bright green, less yellow that the loblolly. Groups of needles seem to grow in irregular tufts or clumps on the twigs, adding to the general scruffy appearance of the tree.
The cones are somewhat egg shaped, maybe up to two inches across. They tend to hang on the limbs over the winter. There is a true but very thin thorn at the end of the cone scale, maybe 1/8 inch long.
Although Virginia Pines may be first to conquer an abandoned field, they are out competed eventually both by hardwood trees and by shortleaf or even loblolly pines. So, in a mature mixed hardwood/pine forest there will remain some older lone specimens of Virginia Pines mixed in with the other trees of the maturing forest. These tend to be the larger specimens found in our area.
Considering a larger specimen, a Virginia Pine may grow to 70 feet sometimes taller, sometimes as tall as the shortleaf pines, even the big ones. Large specimens growing on bluffs may get to 18 inches in diameter.
As to the bigger specimens, the lower bark is somewhat shaggy or scruffy. A piece of bark peels off slightly from the bottom end and folds in slightly from the sides, leaving pieces of bark very slightly concave in appearance, and light brownish. There are no big furrows between plates of the bark. About 20-30 feet up or so feet up the bark starts to become substantially smoother, appearing from the ground almost completely smooth toward the top, with rougher spots here and there. There is a slightly light brown, almost orange tint to the upper bark, with spots that appear slightly more orange.
At the crown the limbs are more irregular than say a shortleaf line, and one can see cones hanging on, sometimes more thickly than other times.
As you drive down a highway like Bryan Boulevard and see stands of pine trees, it usually is a mix of Shortleaf and Virginia Pine.
The Virginia Pine is less stately, and has a more irregular and somewhat forlorn appearance in the way the ends of its upper branches droop somewhat. But as our most common pine, it should hold its place of honor, despite is scruffy and forlorn aspect. |
