Pitch Pine

Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, is not all that common around the lake. At first I thought this specimen might be Red Pine because the older cones looked similar and the needles had comparable length and coarseness. The needle count closed the case--Pitch Pine is the only three-needled pine found in the Northeast US.

The male flower...



And the female cone, this year's and last...



Another this year's cone...


And last year's cone...


And one from at least the year before. This species is known to hang on to its older cones.