Plants and People Project

White Pine - Pinus strobus

Native Americans used the pine for many purposes. Dolls were made from the needles. They ate the sap. They made medicines from several parts of the tree. Plants for a Future

Native Americans also used white pine resin as a cement. If you have ever gotten it on your hands, you know just how sticky it is.

The pine is the Tree of Peace. (See Polly Cooper)

Pine wood is also prized for flooring, house construction. It is used in cabinetmaking and for furniture. The wood is used for paper and telephone poles.

White pines are commonly grown as Christmas trees. Many people have planted these trees in their yards. Their rapid growth can provide an effective privacy screen, sound barrier, and wind break in a few years.

In colonial times, the wood was important in shipbuilding. "Old Ironsides", aka the USS Constitution's mast was made using white pine lumber.

Pines are also our source of: rosin, resin and turpentine. Botanical.com Additionally, a Tar from pines is a medicine for horses!

Animals use the trees for shelter and nesting sites to raise their young. Cooper Hawks raise two chicks in the white pine lot behind my home. Several animals eat the needles and bark. Porcupines eat the inner bark. PA DCNR

Mast source

Info at Botanical.com

 

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Posted 7/20/05 Cindy O'Hora