Michigan State Tree

Eastern white pine Pinaceae Pinus strobus
Leaf: Evergreen, 3 to 5 inches long, with five blue-green, slender needles per fascicle. A fascicle sheath is not present. Needles appear blue because of 3 or more lines of stomata.

Flower: Monoecious; males cylindrical, yellow, in clusters near branch tips; females light green, tinged in red, at ends of branches.

Fruit: Cones are 4 to 7 inches long, cylindrical, with thin, rounded cone scales, very resinous. Cones are borne on a long stalk. Maturing August to September.

Twig: Slender, gray-green to orange-brown in color.

Bark: On young trees; thin, smooth and gray-green in color. Later becoming thick, reddish-brown to gray-brown with prominent ridges and furrows.

Form: A large tree with a very straight stem. The crown is conical when young, later developing wispy, horizontal branches.

Copyright 2003, Virginia Tech Forestry Department, all rights reserved.
Photos courtesy: Michael Aust, John Baitey, Ctaude L. Brown, Bruce Bongarten,
Susan D. Day, Edward C. Jensen, Richard E. Kreh, Larry H. McCormick, Alex X.
Niemiera, John A. Peterson, Oana Popescu, John R. Seiter, David W. Smith, Kim
C. Steiner, James E. Ward, Rodney E. Will, Shepard M. Zedaker.
Text written by: John R. Seiter, Edward C. Jensen, Or John A. Peterson