Slash Pine – Pinus ellottii

Large tree with narrow, regular, pointed crown of horizontal branches and long needles.

Height: 60-100’ / Diameter: 2-3’

Needles: evergreen; 7-10” long; 2 and 3 in a bundle; stout, stiff; slightly shiny green. Bark: purplish-brown, with large, flattened, scaly plates, on small trunks.

Habitat: Low areas such as pond margins, flatwoods, swamps or “slashes,” including poorly drained sandy soils; also uplands and old fields. In pure stands as a sublimax after fires and in mixed forests. Range: Coastal Plains from S. South Carolina to S. Florida, mostly near sea level.

An important species both for lumber and naval stores and one of the fastest-growing southern pines. Extensively grown in forest plantations both in its natural range and farther north. Its beauty makes it popular as a shade and ornamental tree.