Common Names: Eastern
jack, Grey, Black, Black jack, Scrub, Prince's pine or Banksiana pine or Pin gris.
Genus: Pinus
Species: banksiana
The Jack pine usually grows to be twenty-seven meters tall and sixteen and thirty-two centimeter diameter around the trunk. As it grows it gets rounder and rounder around the crown area. The bark of the jack pine is a reddish-brown. The bark is also flat. As the tree gets older the bark gets grayer. The jack pine has needles instead of leaves. The jack pine has long and slender twigs. They are a reddish color. The jack pine has pinecones that store and produce its seeds. The seeds are usually four to five millimeters long and are dark brown. The Jack Pine gives most animals their nurturance. The tree gives its nurturance to mostly rodents.
The jack pine lives in the taiga biome, which is a semi cold forest in the northern hemisphere. It is mostly found in the colder states and countries. Some examples are, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont. The jack pine is plentiful in the wild.
The jack pine adapts to flat or hilly areas that have sandy soil. The jack pine does not have a special root system. It is possible for the jack pine to grow in the taiga because of its waxy pine needles and rough bark. It is good to have waxy pine needles and rough bark in the taiga because the wax on the pine needles protects the needles and so does the rough bark. These things protect the tree from the cold wind in the taiga. These charicteristcs also protect this tree from the weather in the taiga, which is usually cold. In the taiga, the brush starts forest fires and the waxy pine needles and rough bark protect the tree. The jack pine has long and slender twigs so the snow does not stick onto the twig.
The jack pine has two major uses. The jack pine is used to build houses and it is used to make pulp for paper.
by Erinn L. 2001
Bibliography:
"World Biomes", http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/world biomes.html (10-30-00)
"Pinus banksiana description", http://www.geocities.com/rainforest/canopy/2285/pi/pin/banksiana.htm (11-2-00)