Pitch Pine
Pinus rigida
Pitch pine has tufts of needles that emerge from buds hidden in furrows along its fissured trunk. These buds, protected beneath the bark, resprout after a fire, something seen in only a handful of pine species that grow in fire-prone regions. Cones of pitch pine also require fire to open and release their seeds, and trees in the most fire-prone sites have cones that are especially tightly closed. Pitch pine is one of the few tree species in the relatively moist forest communities of eastern North America that flourishes after fire.
Botany Break-Out
Pitch pine favors dry sites: rocky ridges, sandy barrens, and ancient glacial lake beds. Without fire it is overtopped by oaks and other broad-leaved trees that change the local ecological conditions. Broad-leaved trees make a site increasingly moist, reducing the possibilities for fire, and over time this excludes pitch pine and other plants that thrive in fire-prone habitats.
