About Ontario ... Eastern White Pine ...

OntarioSasquatch is proud to feature the Eastern White Pine as one of our distinctive symbols. The white pine is a prominent feature in the Ontario landscape. As Ontarians, we feel this image aptly represents us and our search into the many wilderness settings that are considered possible sasquatch habitat in this province.

Ontario’s Arboreal Emblem

Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus Linnaeus)

The Eastern White Pine was declared the arboreal emblem or the official tree of Ontario in 1984. The largest and tallest Eastern White Pine nominated by The Honour Roll of Ontario Trees is in Haliburton County. It is 67.7 inches (172 cm) in diameter and 148 feet (45.1 m) in height.

Leaves:  Needles evergreen, remaining on tree for 1 to 4 years; in bundles of 5, 5 to 15 cm long (2 to 6 inches), slender, straight, triangular in cross section, flexible, soft to touch, bluish-green with lines of white dots; minute teeth can be felt on leaf margin. The only 5-needled pine native to eastern North America.

Buds:  Slender, up to 15 mm long (l l/4 inches), sharp pointed with overlapping reddish-brown scales. Both male and female flowers (strobili) occur on the same tree, with pollination occurring in spring.

Twigs:  Green and downy, becoming hairless and orange-grown during the 2nd seasons. Scars of micro-shoots round or oval, set in a crescent-shaped leaf-cushion.

Seed Cones and Reproduction:  Cones are cylindrical when closed and 8 to 20 cm long ((3 to 8 inches); scales 50 to 80, usually in 5 spiral rows, thin and rounded at the tip, without prickles. Cones exude a fragrant gummy resin. Cones open soon after maturity in August to September to release the seeds and fall during the winter.

Seeds and Seedlings:  Seeds are reddish-brown, mottled, 5 to 8 mm long (1/4 to 3/8 inch); wing about 20 mm long (3/4 inch); dispersed by wind and seed-eating animals. Seedlings are 7 to 10 needle-shaped minutely toothed, 20 to 30 mm long (3/4 to 1 ¼ inches) seed-leaves.

Bark:  On young trees bark is thin, smooth; with maturity becoming dark grayish-brown and separated by prominent ridges and longitudinal furrows.

Wood:  The wood is soft, light, moderately strong, creamy-white to yellow, straight-grained, uniform texture and easily worked; heartwood moderately decay-resistant. It darkens with age and air exposure eventually turning to a deep orange colour.

Size and Form:  Medium-sized trees, up to 30 m high (112 feet), 100 cm (39 inches) in diameter, and about 200 years old. In the upper part of the tree the branches ascent, giving a broadly oval flat-topped outline which often becomes irregular, or asymmetrical, owing to the effect of the prevailing wind.

Habitat:  Eastern White Pine is a characteristic tree in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest Region, but its range also extends into the southeastern parts of the Boreal Forest Region, eastward into the Acadian Forest Region and south throughout the Deciduous Forest Region. It occurs on a variety of sites, from dry sandy and rocky ridges to sphagnum bogs, but it grows best on moist, sandy loam. It usually grows in association with other conifers and hardwoods.

History:  Two hundred years ago, there was only the forest. There were also, however, vast sections of southern Ontario (as well as the lower part of the Canadian Shield) that consisted of sandy plains. It was in many of these areas that the Native people grew their corn, and it was in their abandoned corn fields that the pine forests grew.

Pine forests also sprung up on sites which had been conditioned for pine regeneration by periodic forest fires. Thus, when settlers arrived, they found that in much of the Ontario forest, red and white pines were dominant trees and that, of the two species, white pine was far more prevalent.

It is difficult today to imagine what the original pine forests were like, to visualize their seemingly infinite reach and the size of the trees they contained. Travelers could afford this luxury of being impressed and excited by the forest because they were just passing through it. Those who settled in Ontario to carve a life out of the wilderness saw the forest differently. Magnificent 200 year old pines were not seen as an asset but obstacles that were to be removed. Without crops there would be no food. The ‘slash and burn’ method of clearing land gradually replaced forest with rich farmland in southern Ontario. Water powered sawmills were soon erected and lumber was produced for shelter, fences and furniture. The white pine became an important source of income and trade. During the Napoleonic Wars, the white pine forests of Ontario also supplied the Royal Navy with the towering pines they needed for their masts; straight, strong and flawless lengths of timber.

Special Uses:  The white pine’s versatility and availability contribute to its success as the most valuable softwood lumber in eastern Canada. It has soft, light wood which works well with a variety of fasteners and tools. It has low shrinkage and uniform texture and is used for patterns, doors, mouldings, flooring and matches. Its paint holding capacity is superior. It also makes an attractive Christmas tree, although very little aroma, the needle retention is good and it usually causes fewer allergic reactions than do some of the aromatic species. The inner bark was once used as food and later as an ingredient in cough remedies.

Wildlife:  Seeds are eaten by birds such as red crossbills and chickadees. Rabbits, white-tailed deer, red and gray squirrels and mice may eat the bark, seeds and foliage of young trees as may porcupines.

Pests:  There are a total of 277 insects and 110 disease organisms known to attach white pine. Fortunately only 2 cause a major threat. White pine was attached by the white pine weevil (Pissodes strobl), a major insect pest and by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) a serious fungal disease. White pine is very susceptible to air pollution damage and can be an indicator of poor air quality.

© Ontario Forest Association, 2006

Reprinted from the Ontario Forest Association website, for non-commercial purposes only.