The most common pine in Rensselaer is the
white pine, a five-needle pine. But there are also a few two- and three-needle pines that I have been struggling to identify. Here, east of Sparling near the track at SJC is a three-needle pine.
Three-needle pines are not native to Indiana, so what is it? I was lucky because the December 2008 ice storm had broken off branches and I was able to see the pine cones.
I am not completely sure, but it looks like
pitch pine, though it could also be a hybrid pine called the
pitlolly pine (a cross of the
pitch pine and the loblolly pine.) There is a bigger tree that is probably the same kind of pine in Weston Cemetery. It is along Bunkum Road, in the line of pines at the west end. Most of the pines are
white pines, but the last one in the line is not.
Three-needle pines are not native to Indiana, so what is it? I was lucky because the December 2008 ice storm had broken off branches and I was able to see the pine cones.
I am not completely sure, but it looks like pitch pine, though it could also be a hybrid pine called the pitlolly pine (a cross of the pitch pine and the loblolly pine.) There is a bigger tree that is probably the same kind of pine in Weston Cemetery. It is along Bunkum Road, in the line of pines at the west end. Most of the pines are white pines, but the last one in the line is not.
How long were the needles? Most Pitch Pine needles are well under 6 inches.
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