Pitch Pine, Shortleaf Pine & Virginia Pine compared

[GoddessofPoetry9]

Yummy!!! 

[C4xFilms]

By the way it is C4xFilmsLegacy, I'm just on a different account.

[C4xFilms]

Sorry MillerMeteor my attempt at a... Joke of sorts. I like wildlife too don't get me wrong but I was joking around and I hope I did not offend you.

[MillerMeteor74]

@C4xFilms Oh okay. Well some of my friends have been dealing with haters lately, so I'm a little on the defensive.

[C4xFilms]

@MillerMeteor74 Haters, huh? People have to learn to appreciate nature. Haters tick me off.

[C4xFilmsLegacy]

Pitch Pine Latin name is Pinus Rigida NOT MAKING IT UP

[MillerMeteor74]

@C4xFilmsLegacy Why are you saying this? And what's with the part about not making it up?? I know the Latin name. Why make this comment?

[Kamoyaker]

Good plant ID vid. Love those Pitch Pines.

[PinePowerLI]

Close up its easy to see the difference between the Pitch and Shortleaf, as the cones on the Shortleaf are much, much smaller. Its interesting how often Pitch Pines have cones in groups of 3, much like the needles. When you watch my recent video in Westhampton, I notice cones sometimes have different colors, some grey, some brown, both were serotinous.

[MillerMeteor74]

@PinePowerLI

I have samples here, from both Pitch Pine and Shortleaf Pine, with cones in groups of 1, 2 and 3, in both species.

But it's funny, the Pitch Pine cones are so big, that when they are in groups of 3, the third one ends up breaking half off when they all open.

[VirgilB01]

@MillerMeteor74 -Would high tempertures such as: Summer heat would open pitch pine cones? Also now I understand why backburning is sometimes used to spur growth to open the cones and the seedlings are used to replace barren areas or speed up growth.

[MillerMeteor74]

@VirgilB01

It would have to be extreme heat, like the heat of a nearby fire. They will stay closed indefintely or until a fire gets close enough to cause them to open.

Also, if you noticed, only some cones are serotinous (closed until open by extreme heat). I think I showed a serotinous cone on a branch full of normal open cones.

[VirgilB01]

@MillerMeteor74 - Ok then, I thought 'summer heat' would also open those cones. Years ago I remember going fishing in the pines with a friend. The sun was so hot I almost passed out. Didn't take much for fires to start, The fire warden would kill you if he seen you with a cigarette in your mouth. He could spot the smoke all the way from the fire tower. Always make me wonder how cones are open on a tree that shows no sign of ever being burned.

[MillerMeteor74]

@VirgilB01

Actually cones that are open all the time are much more common than the cones that are closed all the time.

As for fire towers, I climbed the Batsto tower one time when there was a watcher in it, and I talked with him for a half hour or whatever. At the time there were a couple of fires happening, and I could see the smoke. It was cool to see from up there.

[dolly244]

Barry, Very imformative video! Our Slash Pines have huge cones, bigger then my hands. I would not have known the difference between the pines you showed. Thanks for sharing. Peace