Pinus elliottii
Common name: 
Slash Pine
Swamp Pine
Pronunciation: 
PI-nus ei-l-OT-e-i
Family: 
Pinaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
No
  • Conifer, evergreen tree, to 50-100 ft (15-30 m) tall in its habitat, mature trunk free of branches for a considerable length; bark gray at first then orange-brown and exfoliating in large plates.  Needles grouped in 2s or 3s, crowded at branch tips, about 17-20(25) cm long, stiff, dark green, finely serrate, with stomatal lines on all side; sheath (12 mm) persistent.  Cones nearly terminal, stalked (2 cm), conical shape, glossy red-brown, about 7-11 cm long and 3-5 cm thick.
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 8.  Native to the southeastern United States, from southern South Carolina west to southeastern Louisiana, and south to the Florida Keys.
  • Two varieties of Pinus elliottii ( from Flora of North America, et al.):
    • Pinus elliotti var. elliottii (type) is the fastest growing of the southern yellow pines, much planted in the United States outside its range. It is a source of turpentine, pitch and rosin (i.e., naval stores); but now important in plantations as a lumber and pulpwood pine. It is much planted in subtropical and warm temperate climates worldwide, particularly in Brazil.
    • Pinus elliottii var. densa, South Florida slash pine. Its wood is heavier and harder than that of typical slash pine, and it has a grass stage (i.e., suppressed height growth) comparable to that of Longleaf Pine.  This variety is not used for naval stores as is the type variety; neither is it commercially planted. Found in South Florida, West Indies, Guatemala, and Honduras in Central America.
  • elliottii: in honor of  Stephen Elliott (1771-1830), of Charleston, South Carolina; a state legislator, planter, teacher, and botanist who wrote, A Sketch of the Botany of South-Carolina and Georgia; a seminal work in early American botany. The plant genus Elliottia is also named after him. He discovered the rare Georgia Plum, later named Elliottii racamosa.

 

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  • plant habit, young tree

    plant habit, young tree

  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • branch

    branch

  • brachlets and needles

    branchlets and needles

  • branch tip and needle cluster

    branch tip and needle cluster

  • maturing cone

    maturing cone

  • young trunk, bark

    young trunk, bark

  • older trunks, bark

    older trunks, bark