Pines rank above every other conifer in their value as a food plant for birds and other wildlife. Winter, when their green limbs are often frosted with snow, is the one of best times of year to admire both their value and their beauty.
Pines are one of the most diverse and successful groups of conifers, with over forty species in North American (one hundred-plus worldwide). They are found in almost every ecological habitat, from mountains to deserts, and show an equally wide range of form, from tall majestic trees, to squat shrubby shapes. The oldest living tree in the world is bristlecone pine (Pinuslongaeva), with some individuals reaching five thousand years of age.
Here I will discuss three wide-ranging pines, one of which is likely to offer an excellent landscaping choice for Wild Ones members wherever they live.
Longleaf pine (Pinuspalustris) is found throughout the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains, from Virginia to Florida, and west to Texas. This pine once dominated vast areas of the southern coastal plain, and there are many efforts by The Nature Conservancy and others to restore longleaf pine forests, several of which I had the privilege of visiting in Florida a few years ago.
Ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa) is one of the most widespread pine species in the West, extending from Canada to Mexico, and east to Nebraska and Oklahoma. My first acquaintance with this pine was in our western national parks, where I first enjoyed the wonderful vanilla (some say butterscotch) fragrance of its bark.
Eastern whitepine (Pinusstrobus) grows from Canada south to the Appalachians, and west to Iowa and Tennessee. This is the pine I know and love best, a native species throughout the Midwest where I live.
Value for birds
Pine seeds are eaten by at least forty-eight species of birds, and are especially favored by grouse, crossbills, jays, nuthatches, siskins, and woodpeckers. The seeds make up more than fifty percent of the diet of three species of birds – red crossbill, Clark’s nutcracker, and white-headed woodpecker. Pine needles provide food for grouse, while some songbirds use them for nesting material.
Pine siskins, as their name suggests, are birds of pine forests, both nesting in pines and favoring pine seeds for food. The pine warbler is also aptly named, since it strongly prefers nesting in pine forests, and when insects aren’t available, will feed on pine seeds. Pine grosbeaks, on the other hand, are somewhat misnamed, since they are seldom found in pines in summer, preferring spruce/fir forests for nesting, and feed mainly in fruiting deciduous trees in winter – although they do sometimes eat pine seeds, and may shelter in pine groves.
Pines not only offer food for birds, but also provide shelter and nests sites. Birds such as the Backman’s sparrow and brown-headed nuthatch depend on southeastern pine forests for breeding and foraging habitat. The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker nests only in the longleaf and loblolly (P.taeda) pines. In the West, the white-headed woodpecker and four corvids (see below) are specialists of pine forests. Some Midwestern birds occurring in pine woodlands are the hermit thrush, eastern bluebird, ruffed grouse, bald eagle, red crossbill and both pine and black-throated green warblers. Mature white pines are often chosen as nest sites by ospreys and eagles. Of special note is the endangered Kirkland warbler, which nests only in large stands of young Jack pines (Pinusbanksiana) in Michigan and in Wisconsin.
Value for other wildlife
Many mammals, from mice to bears, feed on pine seeds, bark, foliage, and sometimes twigs. Prime users are chickarees, varying hares, and porcupines, which feed on pine seeds, bark, and foliage; chipmunks, which eat the seeds; and deer, which browse on pine foliage and twigs. Pines provide cover and nesting sites for many animals. In addition, pines support two hundred and one species of butterflies and moths.
Landscaping Notes
All three of the highlighted species are tall, beautiful trees with outstanding ornamental value. They commonly reach seventy to ninety feet in height, and thus are best suited to larger suburban and rural gardens, and other sites of adequate size.
The longleaf pine grows best in full or partial sun, on well-drained, sandy, acidic soils. For the first few years, while developing its deep taproot, the tree looks like a fountain of grass with foot-long needles. Later it grows rapidly, from two to four feet each year. The mature tree has beautiful plated bark and a shapely, wide-spreading crown, sporting sprays of nine-inch long needles. It is more resistant than other southern pines to insect damage, and fusiform rust is not a significant problem. Once established it is very drought tolerant, and requires no irrigation.
The ponderosa pine, like the longleaf, grows best in full or partial sun, on deep sandy, acidic soils. Its trunk is straight, with little taper, and has an attractive and aromatic yellow-orange bark. At maturity, it develops a rounded or flat-topped crown. Often growing in groves on dry sites, the trees space themselves widely to ensure an adequate water supply. Similarly, when used in landscaping, it’s best to give them sufficient space. Being sensitive to air pollution, ponderosas do not do well in urban or high-traffic areas.
The White Pine is a majestic tree, with great horizontal branches and a wind-swept appearance. It prefers loamy well-drained soils, but can tolerate sandy soils. Although it grows best in sun, it can tolerate light shade. Its dark brown to black bark is deeply furrowed at maturity. Although it grows widely throughout the East, it is most common in southern Canada and the northern tier of states – the “north woods” as we say in southern Wisconsin. Like the ponderosa pine, the white pine is susceptible to air pollution and also to rusts, when growing conditions are not the best.
Also of Interest
One of the most remarkable examples of coevolved mutualism is that between four corvids – scrub jay, Stellar’s jay, pinyon jay, and Clark’s nutcracker – and several species of pinyon pines in the west. The pinyon pines’ seeds are the familiar pine nuts that we, too, enjoy eating. They are significantly larger than those of most pines and don’t have the wings that most other pine seeds have to help disperse them in the wind. Instead, the birds do the job, burying the pinyon seeds in the soil, like acorns. Some are not recovered and will germinate, helping to spread the Pinyon Pines throughout the West