Pinus elliottii
Common name:
Slash Pine
Swamp Pine
Pronunciation:
PI-nus ei-l-OT-e-i
Family:
Pinaceae
Genus:
Type:
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon:
No
- Conifer, evergreen tree, to 50-100 ft (15-30 m) tall in its habitat, mature trunk free of branches for a considerable length; bark gray at first then orange-brown and exfoliating in large plates. Needles grouped in 2s or 3s, crowded at branch tips, about 17-20(25) cm long, stiff, dark green, finely serrate, with stomatal lines on all side; sheath (12 mm) persistent. Cones nearly terminal, stalked (2 cm), conical shape, glossy red-brown, about 7-11 cm long and 3-5 cm thick.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 8. Native to the southeastern United States, from southern South Carolina west to southeastern Louisiana, and south to the Florida Keys.
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Two varieties of Pinus elliottii ( from Flora of North America, et al.):
- Pinus elliotti var. elliottii (type) is the fastest growing of the southern yellow pines, much planted in the United States outside its range. It is a source of turpentine, pitch and rosin (i.e., naval stores); but now important in plantations as a lumber and pulpwood pine. It is much planted in subtropical and warm temperate climates worldwide, particularly in Brazil.
- Pinus elliottii var. densa, South Florida slash pine. Its wood is heavier and harder than that of typical slash pine, and it has a grass stage (i.e., suppressed height growth) comparable to that of Longleaf Pine. This variety is not used for naval stores as is the type variety; neither is it commercially planted. Found in South Florida, West Indies, Guatemala, and Honduras in Central America.
- elliottii: in honor of Stephen Elliott (1771-1830), of Charleston, South Carolina; a state legislator, planter, teacher, and botanist who wrote, A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia; a seminal work in early American botany. The plant genus Elliottia is also named after him. He discovered the rare Georgia Plum, later named Elliottii racamosa.
Click image to enlarge
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plant habit, young tree
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plant habit
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branch
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branchlets and needles
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branch tip and needle cluster
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maturing cone
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young trunk, bark
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older trunks, bark
