Pinus banksiana
| Pinus banksiana | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 2 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Evergreen Cross Pollinated | |
| Height: | 39' |
| Width: | 16' |
| Speed: | Fast |
| Blooms: | Late Spring |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Pinus banksiana (common name: jack pine)
Propagation: It is best to sow the seed in individual pots in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible otherwise in late winter. A short stratification of 6 weeks at 4°c can improve the germination of stored seed[1]. Plant seedlings out into their permanent positions as soon as possible and protect them for their first winter or two[2]. Plants have a very sparse root system and the sooner they are planted into their permanent positions the better they will grow[K]. Trees should be planted into their permanent positions when they are quite small, between 30 and 90cm[3]. We actually plant them out when they are about 5 - 10cm tall. So long as they are given a very good weed-excluding mulch they establish very well[K]. Larger trees will check badly and hardly put on any growth for several years. This also badly affects root development and wind resistance[3].
Cuttings. This method only works when taken from very young trees less than 10 years old. Use single leaf fascicles with the base of the short shoot. Disbudding the shoots some weeks before taking the cuttings can help. Cuttings are normally slow to grow away[4].
Cultivation: Thrives in a light well-drained sandy or gravelly loam[5]. The trees have an extensive root system and are well adapted for growing in poor sandy soils[2][6], they are often used as a pioneer tree for reforestation[6]. Dislikes poorly drained moorland soils and shady positions[5]. Starts away well on almost any soil, whether poorly drained or shallow and dry[7]. Established plants tolerate drought[3].
A fast growing tree when young[3], but growth soon slows down and the tree is short-lived in Britain with no tree known to be older than 75 years[7]. New shoots can be almost 1 metre long, though the tree remains spindly[7]. An open-topped tree, though plants sometimes have a shrubby habit of growth[8]. They can start producing seed when only a few years old[8].
The cones are 4- 5cm long[8]. They ripen in their second year but can remain un-opened on the tree for a number of years, only opening and shedding their seed after a forest fire has heated them to at least 50°c[6]. This makes them one of the first colonizers of burnt land[6].
Cultivated for timber in C. Europe[9].
Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly[3]. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus[3]. This species hybridises in the wild with P. contorta where their ranges overlap[6].
There are several named varieties selected for their ornamental value[3].
Leaf secretions inhibit the germination of seeds, thereby inhibiting the growth of other plants below the tree[10].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[3].
Range: Northern N. America - Alaska to Northwest Territory, south to New York, Illinois and Minnesota.
Habitat: Barren sandy or rocky soils[11], sometimes forming extensive forests[12].
Edibility: Seed - raw or cooked[13]. Rich in oil with a slightly resinous flavour[K]. They are very small and fiddly to utilize, being only 2 - 3mm long[3].
Young cones - cooked[13].
Inner bark[14]. No more information is given, but the bark can usually be eaten raw or cooked. It can also be dried, then ground into a powder and used as a thickener in soups or can be mixed with cereal flours when making bread etc[K].
A refreshing drink is made from the leaves[15][13].
A vanillin flavouring is obtained as a by-product of other resins that are released from the pulpwood[3].
Medicinal: The turpentine obtained from the resin of all pine trees is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient and vermifuge[16]. It is a valuable remedy used internally in the treatment of kidney and bladder complaints and is used both internally and as a rub and steam bath in the treatment of rheumatic affections[16]. It is also very beneficial to the respiratory system and so is useful in treating diseases of the mucous membranes and respiratory complaints such as coughs, colds, influenza and TB[16]. Externally it is a very beneficial treatment for a variety of skin complaints, wounds, sores, burns, boils etc and is used in the form of liniment plasters, poultices, herbal steam baths and inhalers[16].
A poultice of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of deep cuts[14].
The leaves have been used in a herbal steam bath to clear congested lungs[14]. They have also been used as a fumigant to revive a comatose patient[14].
Usage: A tan or green dye is obtained from the needles[17].
Various native North American Indian tribes made a string from the long roots of this species and used it to stitch the bark of their canoes[6][14]. In a sandy soil, the roots of this species extend near the surface of the soil for perhaps 10 metres and are easy to pull out of the ground for their entire length. When gathered, they were made into coils and sunk beneath the surface of water until the outer bark had loosened from the root. They were then peeled and split in half, each half being a serviceable cord for sewing together canoes and bark strips intended for the roofs of wigwams and other purposes[14].
The needles contain a substance called terpene, this is released when rain washes over the needles and it has a negative effect on the germination of some plants, including wheat[18].
Oleo-resins are present in the tissues of all species of pines, but these are often not present in sufficient quantity to make their extraction economically worthwhile[19]. The resins are obtained by tapping the trunk, or by destructive distillation of the wood[16][19]. In general, trees from warmer areas of distribution give the higher yields[19]. Turpentine consists of an average of 20% of the oleo-resin[19] and is separated by distillation[16][19]. Turpentine has a wide range of uses including as a solvent for waxes etc, for making varnish, medicinal etc[16]. Rosin is the substance left after turpentine is removed. This is used by violinists on their bows and also in making sealing wax, varnish etc[16]. Pitch can also be obtained from the resin and is used for waterproofing, as a wood preservative etc[14].
Wood - fairly light, soft, coarse, weak[20][21][8][6]. It weighs 27lb per cubic foot[12]. It is mainly used for fuel, though occasionally also for posts, pulp and lumber[20][21][8][6].
Pollinators: Wind
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Mid Winter-Late Winter
Flower Type: Monoecious
Known Hazards: The wood, sawdust and resins from various species of pine can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[22].
Also Known As: P. divaricata. P. hudsonica.
Links
References
- ↑ McMillan-Browse, Philip. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books, 1985.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Rushforth, Keith. Conifers. Batsford, 1991.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Lauriault, Jean. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada. Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1989.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Mitchell, Alan. Conifers in the British Isles. Stationery Office Books, 1975.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ Philbrick, Helen and Richard Gregg. Companion Plants. Watkins, 1979.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.
- ↑ Allardice, Pamela. A-Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers, 1993.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 Howes, Frank. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Chronica Botanica, 1949.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.