Identifying 6 Types of Pine Trees in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a beautiful state and one of the things that gives it breathtaking beauty is the different types of trees you can find there. If you have ever wondered about the different types of pine trees in Wisconsin, this article is for you. We will delve into each of the different types of pine trees that you can admire when visiting the state known as “America’s Dairyland” because of its delicious cheese.
Pine trees are beautiful and they are one of the most widely spread types of trees in the United States and in all of North America. From the icy cold mountains of Alaska to the lawns of residents in Ohio, there are many different types of pine trees throughout the United States. Pine trees are noted for being able to grow almost anywhere in a variety of different climates. From the forests of Appalachia and seaside borders in places like Florida and California to lowlands and the Rocky Mountains, pine trees can be found just about anywhere. They can adapt easily to their environments and they are very strong so they can adapt to any habitat.
Pine trees have had many uses over the years and the Native Americans even used pine trees to build canoes, to treat respiratory illnesses, and even to eat. In today’s world, pine trees are still extremely valuable and are used in the building of furniture, as pulpwood, for use in land management, in the construction industry, and so much more.
Let’s now take a look at the different types of pine trees you can find in the beautiful state of Wisconsin.
1. Jack Pine
Also referred to by its formal name of Pinus banksiana, the Jack Pine tree can grow to between 30 and 70 feet tall. Some Jack pine trees, though, are more the size of a shrub when they are located in areas with poor growing conditions.
These pine trees do not grow to be perfectly straight but have an irregular type of shape to them. You will often find them on sandy soil or very rocky soil. While some Jack pine trees will live to be 100 to 200 years old, the average lifespan for a Jack pine tree is between 40 and 70 years. The Jack pine tree is part of the Evergreen family and will not lose its pine needles unless it is unhealthy and usually brown in color.
The Jack pine tree falls under the category of yellow hardwoods but many of these trees have the characteristics of a more white, softwood tree. Jack pine trees are used mainly for pulpwood during the sulfate process, but they can also be used in the construction industry, to make boxes and crates, to create shipping containers, as posts, poles, mine timbers, and railway ties, and even in fuel.
The Jack pine tree grows in the northern forests of the United States as well as Canada and enjoys the climate of the state of Wisconsin.
2. Red Pine
According to the Gymnosperm Database, the beautiful Red Pine tree boasts the formal name of Pinus resinosa and will grow to between 70 and 80 feet tall. It was once a very popular tree for people to cut down, bring home, and decorate for their Christmas tree, but that tradition fell by the wayside when people realized how susceptible the red pine tree is to insects and diseases.
There is an insect called the red pine scale insect that is native to Japan but came over to the United States around 1946. This little insect is only the size of a pinhead and will cover itself in a protected white wooly substance that you can see on the trees’ branches. This is one of the most significant insects that can infect the native red pine tree throughout the United States.
The wood from red pine trees is often used for making utility poles, railroad ties, posts, and lumber for construction. It is also used as pulpwood to make paper, which is very important throughout the United States. Its bark is a reddish-brown color, hence the name the red pine tree. Red pines can live a long time, to be about the age of 400 years old.
They can be found on outwash plains as well as very level or gently rolling plains that are mostly sand-covered, and the lower ridges along lakes and swamps. While the Red Pine tree is the state tree for the state of Minnesota, you could still find plenty of them if you keep your eyes peeled throughout Wisconsin.
3. Northern Pin Oak (White Pine Tree)
The Northern Pin Oak tree, also called the Quercus ellipsoidalis or Pinus strobus, is more commonly referred to as the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine, or soft pine. It is a larger pine tree that is native to the eastern part of North America. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, there were once a large number of these forest-type trees that grew on acres and acres of land, but many were cut down and burned during the logging era of the late 19th century and early part of the 20th century.
White pine trees are beautiful evergreens that have pine needles that are lush and about three to five inches long. These contribute to this tree’s very soft and beautiful appearance. White pines are many times used as construction lumber and in the building of boats. Since white pine trees boast a softer wood, they are also used for interior millwork and carving.
Most people have heard of white pine boxes and that’s because this wood is used to create crates as well as boxes throughout the world. These trees will grow to about 50 to 80 feet tall and have a life span of about 200 years and can even live as long as 450 years if left undisturbed in their natural habitat and climate.
The White Pine tree actually has some gifts to share. You can use its needles to make pine needle tea by chopping up the needles and then steeping them in very hot water to make a tea that is full of nutritious goodness, including an array of vitamins. This tree also sports pine nuts that are edible so you can nibble on them as you enjoy the beauty of the tree itself.
4. Douglas Fir Tree
The Douglas Fir Tree is part of the pine family of Pinaceae and is considered an Evergreen conifer species per Brittantica. This tree is native to the western part of northern America and also goes by the names of Douglas fir, Oregon pine, Columbian pine, and even Douglas spruce. There are also three different varieties of this tree, including the Rocky Mountain Douglas fir, the Mexican Douglas fir, and the coast Douglas fir.
This tree is considered to be one of the best timber trees in the United States and North America as a continent. It is a very popular ornamental tree and is used by many people as a Christmas tree to decorate and keep in their houses to show off to family and friends throughout the month of December. These trees are even used as part of a reforestation project along the Pacific Coast. It first produces seeds at about 25 years of its life and can produce more trees every five to seven years.
5. Hemlock Pine Tree
The Hemlock Pine tree, also known as Tsuga, is part of the conifers in the subfamily species of Abietoideae of Pinaceae, which is the pine family, according to information from the Morton Arboretum. This tree’s most popular name of hemlock was taken from the similarity of its smell to the crushed foliage of the plant hemlock, which is very poisonous.
The two are not related and this tree is not poisonous. The hemlock pine tree is very easy to spot since it has two white stripes on the underside of its needles that many people refer to as racing stripes. Each needle has similar stripes and the pine cones are more egg-shaped, which gives the branches a lacier appearance than those of a regular pine tree, spruce tree, or fir pine tree.
6. Tamarack Pine Tree
Larix laricina, which is much more commonly known as the tamarack pine tree, is also referred to as the hackmatack, black or eastern larch, red larch, or as the American larch. It is a species of larch that is native to Canada.
It is also from the eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories, and can even be found east of Newfoundland, as well as south into the upper northeastern United States from states like Minnesota and Wisconsin all the way to West Virginia.
There are even some of these types of pine trees that can be found in the central area of Alaska. The Algonquian name of akemantak for this tree actually means “wood for snow shoes,” according to Treehugger.com.
How to Spot Pine Trees in Wisconsin
As you can see above, there are several beautiful pine trees that you can scope out throughout the beautiful state of Wisconsin. From spruce trees as well as fur, pine, hemlock and tamarack, there is plenty of beauty throughout this wonderful state. But how do you spot these different trees and identify them as you take a walk through the woods or nice long drive in the fall time of the year? Read on to learn how.
First of all, the best time to look for the different pine trees is after the deciduous trees have lost their leaves during the fall of the year. This makes it much easier to pick out evergreens because they’re beautiful, lush green colors will stand out against the bare branches of the other trees.
You can also test out the foliage with your fingers, because if the tree has needles that are narrow, very sharp, and short, the tree is more than likely a spruce pine tree. As stated above, the needles of a white pine tree are much more flexible and softer and they can also be much longer at about 10 inches in length. Fir trees have flat needles with very blunt ends that are not at all sharp. Hemlock trees boast shorter but soft needles and Wisconsin has plenty of all four of these types of trees.
While you’re walking through the forests of Wisconsin, you can look for cones that have fallen on the ground and then check out the branches of the tree to confirm which type of Evergreen you are observing. Both hemlocks and tamarack have pine cones that are about 1/2 an inch big that adorns their branches. Some of their pine cones can grow to 9 inches long and much wider but you just have to see how they’re situated on the branches. this can help you identify the different types of trees. More broadleaf evergreens, such as yew and juniper, will actually produce berries during the winter months and the color of those berries can be blue, red, black, white, or even purple, depending on which species of pine tree it is.
You should also look at the shape of the Evergreen tree as a whole, because spruce, fir, and pine trees will have a shape that resembles a pyramid, since they are wider at the base and pointed at the top. The hemlock tree looks more like it’s weeping and it has very delicate branches that trail downward in a beautiful cascade. Tamarack is a more tall and narrower tree, while yew is short and almost looks like a shrub. Junipers take a long time to grow, so some may be more narrow, such as the skyrocket juniper, while others have wider branches.
And there you have it. As you drive through the state of Wisconsin or take long walks or hikes throughout the beautiful forests throughout this wonderful state, you can check out and identify all of the different types of beautiful pine trees that are sprinkled throughout this magnificent area. From Tamarack to Hemlock and Spruce, fir, and pine, you can spot these beautiful trees all on your own armed with the information you learned in this article.
