NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Pinus echinata

Shortleaf Pine

Scientific Name:	Pinus echinata
Genus:	Pinus
Species Epithet:	echinata
Common Name:	Shortleaf Pine
Plant Type	Tree
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Pinaceae (Pine Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Invasive Status:	^(*Key)
Size:	72-100 ft.
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Dry, Moist
Bloom Time:	March, April
Growing Area:	Mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain
Habitat Description:	Dry rocky ridges and slopes, sandhills, old fields, forests, generally in rather xeric sites, but also occurring in mesic to even wet sites. Common and widespread in the NC Piedmont and the upper and central Coastal Plain. However, it is scarce in the eastern third of the Coastal Plain and is mostly absent in the Tidewater zone (around Pamlico and Albemarle sounds) and on coastal islands. It is common in the far southwestern mountains (below 2000 feet), but becomes uncommon farther northward to the central mountains. In most of the state, it is outnumbered by other species of pines.
Leaf Arrangement:	Fascicled (Pines)
Leaf Retention:	Evergreen
Leaf Type:	Leaves needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Highest Wildlife Value
Landscape Value:	Recommended and Available
State Rank:	S5: Secure ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G5 - Secure ^(*Key)
Shortleaf Pine can grow to 100'; it forms a somewhat rounded crown and the mature bark has flat, irregular plates that often have resin dots on them. Forsyth Co., NC Lisa Lofland Gould
Pollen cones of Shortleaf Pine. Needles are usually in clusters of 2 (sometimes 3). Guilford Co., NC Lisa Lofland Gould
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record