''Pinus clausa'' is a species of

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

. Its common names include sand pine, Florida spruce pine, and scrub pine.

Distribution

The tree is found in two separate locations, one across central peninsular

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and the other along the western

Florida panhandle The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...

coast into the

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

coast. There is a range gap of about between the populations (from the

Ochlockonee River The Ochlockonee River ( ) is a fast running river, except where it has been dammed to form Lake Talquin in Florida, originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida. Background The name is from the Hitchiti language wor ...

Cedar Key Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 687, down from 702 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of ...

). The sand pines of the Florida peninsula and of the Florida panhandle coast differ enough to be classified into two varieties or races, ''Pinus clausa'' var. ''clausa'' ("Ocala"), on the peninsula, and ''P. clausa'' var. ''immuginata'' ("Choctawhatchee"), along the panhandle coast. While most panhandle sand pines (var. ''immuginata'') have non-serotinous, or open, cones, most of the peninsular sand pines (var. ''clausa'') have serotinous, or closed, cones. Sand pine is largely confined to the very

infertile In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, which is the body's sta ...

, excessively well-drained, sandy habitat of

Florida scrub Florida scrub is a forest ecoregion found throughout Florida in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland sand ridges and is characterized by an evergreen Xerophyte, xeromorphic plant community dominated by shrubs and dwarf oaks. Becau ...

. It is often the only canopy tree in the Florida scrub ecosystem. Stands of sand pines in peninsular Florida tend to be dense and of the same age, while stands of sand pines along the panhandle coast tend to be more open than on the peninsula, and with trees of varying age.

Description

''Pinus clausa'' is a small, often

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

from , exceptionally to tall. It is vulnerable to windfall, and stands in areas prone to hurricanes can be found leaning in the same direction. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are needle-like, in pairs, long, and its

cones In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

are long. Over much of its range, it is fire-adapted to stand-replacing

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

s, with the cones remaining closed for many years (''clausa'' = closed), until a natural forest fire kills the mature trees and opens the cones. These then reseed the burnt ground. Some populations differ in having cones that open at maturity, with seed dispersal not relying on fires. Without a fire every 20-60 years, Pinus clausa populations will be succeeded by oak and hickory. Most fires occur in the spring due to low water content in the needles and high winds. In addition, resin content is highest in the spring, causing extreme or uncontrollable fire behavior, such as a 1935 fire in

Ocala National Forest The Ocala National Forest is the second largest nationally protected forest in the U.S. State of Florida. It covers of North Central Florida. It is located east of Ocala, Florida, Ocala and southeast of Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The ...

that burned 5,670 acres (2,295 ha) in only 4 hours. Sand pine bark

Uses

''Pinus clausa'' woodlands are an important part of the Florida scrub ecosystem, and provide habitat for songbirds, birds of prey, grey and flying squirrels, as well as the endangered Florida sand skink and

Florida scrub jay The Florida scrub jay (''Aphelocoma coerulescens'') is one of the species of scrub jay native to North America. It is the only species of bird endemic to the U.S. state of Florida and one of only 15 species endemic to the continental United Stat ...

, among other species. It is one of the few canopy trees able to grow in arid, sandy, and hot locations with minimal care. While the dense branching and crooked trunks makes this tree unsuitable for

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

production, it is often used for

wood pulp Pulp is a fibrous Lignocellulosic biomass, lignocellulosic material prepared by chemically, semi-chemically, or mechanically isolating the cellulose fiber, cellulosic fibers of wood, fiber crops, Paper recycling, waste paper, or cotton paper, rag ...

References

Sources

External links

''Pinus clausa''.
USDA PLANTS.
''Pinus clausa''.
Flora of North America. {{Authority control clausa Endemic flora of the United States Flora of Florida Trees of Northern America Garden plants of North America Ornamental trees Plants used in bonsai