Evergreen I.D. please

[Daren]

I don't know my softwoods. I have some pictures of some trees the school is taking down to expand the ball diamonds and they asked me if I wanted them. There are a couple sycamores and a bumpy redbud I know I do, but don't know what species this is and if it is good for anything. I plan on giving some of the lumber back to the school for shop class. The dead one without bark seams to be sound (no visible worm holes at least and no exterior rot) Is it worth sawing ? They are 20-24 dbh.










 

[WDH]

It looks like the needles are in two's.  I believe that it is red pine, Pinus resinosa.  It should saw  into typical hard-pine lumber like loblolly, shortleaf, or pitch pine.  The dead one looks sound from the pic.  Our rule of thumb is that if you stick a knife into it and it feels solid instead of soft, if would be sound enough for lumber. 

[Daren]

Our rule of thumb is that if you stick a knife into it and it feels solid instead of soft, if would be sound enough for lumber. 

I did that, the bark has slipped but the wood is not soft.

[SwampDonkey]

That's not red pine. Red pine needles are about 6 inches long and dark yellow-green. Are the needles flat on one side? And rounded on the other, like a semicircle if looked at on a cut end?

They look more like shortleaf or pitch pine to me. Needles in threes, v shaped and more light yellow-green.

[SwampDonkey]

Red Pine

[Daren]

The needle bunch I picked up was laying on the ground and sorta dried out. On the tree they are darker (I just could not reach any) I tried to get a pic of them on the tree, but it is cloudy and the one I posted doesn't show good. The needles are about 4". I did not pay attention to their cross section shape. They have pruned the lower limbs, but there are relatively few in the top where it was not touched. The limbs are small in diameter and sparse (the picture looking up is 2 trees next to each others limbs, not just one tree) and for the tree size the canopy is small. The needle bunches they do have are just here and there on the limbs, there is just not many needles period on even the healthiest of the trees.

[Ron Wenrich]

Jack pine

[Daren]

As a sidenote I have been threating to do this for a year. Make a short video of me sawmilling and give it to the shop teacher for subject matter for a days class "where lumber comes from" He can show the students how the tree they played baseball around was turned into lumber for shop class. It may hold their interest and give the teacher something other than books to work with. I got the idea a long time ago, but with trees from the school it would be even cooler in my opinion.

[SwampDonkey]

I'd rule out jack pine. Needles are much shorter in jackpine (1") , cones are curved. Although, the branching form I see in those photos are similar to jack but I would suggest Virginia pine. When I first saw Virginia pine from a distance I thought I was looking at jack. Both jack and Virginia pine needles are twisted and semi circular on the X-section. Your actually between the range of both jack and Virginia pine.

Depending on the needles, I'd go with my previous pines or with Virginia.

[SwampDonkey]

Jack Pine

[Texas Ranger]

Looks like Virginia pine

[Ron Wenrich]

The only problem I have with Virginia pine is the size.  I've never seen them 20-24" dbh.  It was my first inclination, but its pretty far out of its range and I doubt if anyone would plant one just for something to plant. 

[SwampDonkey]

Well, I wouldn't discount Virginia because of being planted out of it's range. That is quite common, especially if it's natural range is at similar latitude. Lots of example here, such as Norway spruce and Scots Pine, European Larch and Japanese larch.

That's why I want to know if needles are in threes or twos, and what the x-section of the needle is.

[Daren]

I will get a better needle sample tomorrow (or so) if that is the indicator to narrow it down. The dbh was an afterthough eyeball over the fence on the way back to the truck, they may be a wee bit smaller. 

[Gary_C]

From just the bark, it looks like a Norway Pine which is a red pine.

From the limbs, it looks like a Scotch Pine although an open grown one like that would normally have larger diameter limbs. Scotch is also considered a red pine.

So red pine of some type would be my guess. Definately not Jack Pine.

[SwampDonkey]

Red pine and Scots pine have orange-red bark to.

[WDH]

It is not virginia pine.  The bark is wrong.  Large virginia pine bark is scaly.  It is not jack pine as SD pointed out.  It could be shortleaf pine, but if it is, there will be pitch pockets on the bark.  They are little round dimples or depressions, sort of like little shallow pits.  Very diagnostic.   No other pine has them.  Also, the needles can be in two's and three's on the same branch in shortleaf.  Check that out.   Red pine will only be in two's.  Red pine is native to that area, so that is why I think that it is red pine.

[Gary_C]

Yes, scotch pine more so than norway, but it is not necessarily true. The bark looks identical to most of the Norway I see. Scotch normally has more patchy bark as well as orange colored, but again not always.

Those open grown trees can be difficult to identify by "normal" traits.

[Texas Ranger]

Had a brain malfunction when I wrote Virginia Pine, ment to write Scotch Pine, and any tree planted out of range can have some strange not quite right features.  I go with scotch.

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, I agree it's a good possibility for sure.