Jack Pine
Pinus banksiana
A scrubby, fire-adapted northern pine with short twisted needles and curved cones sealed with resin until a fire's heat opens them. The young dense stands that follow fire are the only nesting habitat of the Kirtland's warbler. It thrives on sterile sand where better trees fail, and is the hardiest pine in the East.
- Family
- Pinaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 35–50 ft
- Spacing
- 20–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- red, yellow
- Wildlife value
- songbirds, mammals
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~201 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing, erosion control, hedge or screen
- Native states
- AK, IL, IN, MA, ME, MI, MN, ND, NH, NY, VT, WI
Related native plants
More Pinus species
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)
- Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)
- Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
- Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)
- Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda)