Click on the images help you identify an eastern white pine.
Form
Height ranges from 80 to 100 feet, with a trunk diameter up to 42 inches. The trunk is straight and regular. Shape is pyramidal with soft, gray-green foliage. In forested areas, lower branches often fall away. On young trees, branches extend horizontally in whorls, marking successive years of upward growth.
Bark
Bark is thin, smooth, and greenish gray on young trees. On older trees, it is thick, deeply furrowed, and grayish brown.
Leaf
Needles are soft, flexible, 2 1/2 to 5 inches long, and grouped in bundles of five. Needles are bluish green on the upper surface and whitish beneath.
Fruit (seed)
Cones are 4 to 8 inches long, cylindrical, with thin, usually gummy scales, each containing two small, winged seeds. Cones mature at the end of the second season.
Range
Important throughout the northern, central, and eastern parts of Minnesota, and scattered along the Mississippi River as far south as Houston County. Thrives on fertile, well-drained soil. Prefers sun but can tolerate shade. White pine blister rust, white pine weevil, and deer browsing pose threats to survival.
Wood uses
Wood is light, soft, not strong, and light brown, often tinged with red. Easily worked, it is used for lumber, shingles, and laths, as well as for construction, cabinet making, finished interiors, and wooden ware.