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| ## slash pine {#slash-pine .Title-Header}                             |
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| *Pinus elliottii* Engelm.                                             |
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| Plant Symbol =PIEL                                                    |
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*Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center*

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6354166666666665in"
height="4.083333333333333in"}

© 2004 Horticopia, Inc.

# 

# Uses

######## Commercial uses: Slash pine is used for reforestation projects and timber plantations throughout the southeastern United States. Its pines produced turpentine and crude rosins used for a variety of purpose (i.e., poles, railroad ties, pilings, turpentine, and rosin).

######## Wildlife uses: The slash pine seeds are an excellent food source for gray and fox squirrels and wild turkey.

# Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

# 

# Description

######## General: Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) is one of the hard yellow pines indigenous to southeastern United States. The slash pine is a medium to large tree that reaches heights of 80\' to 100\' tall. It has a round top and \"brooms\" of needles at the ends of the branches. Its' needles may be 5\" to 11\" long and are borne 2 to 3 to a fascicle. The orange-brown bark is scaly with plates. It is durable and hard, nearly equivalent to that of longleaf pine (Pinus palustrus). It has thick, plate-like bark with an extensive root system, and a moderate taproot. Its cones measure 8-16 cm (3 -- 6 inches) long, and are a glossy brown color. And the cone scales are thin with fine prickles 

P*inus elliottii* var. elliottii is found in the Coastal Plain of north
and Central Florida. Whereas, the Southern slash pine or *Pinus
elliottii* var,*. densa* is found in South Florida, West Indies,
Guatemala, and Honduras in Central America.

The slash pine is commonly associated with the loblolly pine (*Pinus
taeda*); however, the length and number of needles per fascicle, cones,
and bark can be used to differentiate them.

*Distribution*: The slash pine can be found on coastal plains throughout
the Indian River Lagoon area, and in freshwater upland areas. It occurs
on coastal plains from South Carolina to Central Florida, and west to
Louisiana. The P*inus elliottii* occurs from Central Florida through
South Florida and the Florida Keys. Slash pine was introduced in
Kentucky, Virginia and eastern Texas in the 1900\'s, and now reproduces
naturally within these states.

*Habitat*: The climate within the natural range of slash pine is warm
and humid, and it likes wet summers, drier falls and springs. It grows
well with rainfall averages about 1270 mm (50 in) per year, and summer
rains of 13 mm (0.5 in) or more occur about four times per month. The
mean annual temperature in the slash pine region is 17° C (63° F), with
extremes of 41° C (106° F) and -18° C (0° F), and a growing season of
250 days. The slash Pine grows well on a variety of acidic soils in full
sun or partial shade. It does poorly in basic soil (high pH) and is not
recommended for irrigation water has a high pH. Once established, it is
more tolerant of wet sites than most other pines and is moderately
salt-tolerant. It is not highly drought-tolerant, but more so than most
other pines. The horizontal branches break easily in ice storms. It is
not recommended to plant the tree too close to high traffic areas, since
shaded lower branches, die and drop, as the tree grows taller. This is
dangerous because branches could fall on people or vehicles, unless
there is a regular maintenance plan to remove them.

# Adaptation

The slash pine grows in the infertile soils of sandhills, flatwoods, and
near wet lowlands, such as swamps and ponds. Soils within its range are
mostly Spodosols, Ultisols, and Entisols. Spodosols, Entisols are common
along the coasts of Florida while the Ultisols are in the northern part
of the range. Originally, slash pines were found in moist, well-drained
aerated soils, of the southeastern United States, particularly along
pond, stream, and lake margins. This habitat preference is a reflection
of the susceptibility of the seedlings to fire, with the advent of fire
protection, slash pine has spread to drier soils in the southeast and
Texas. Although slash pine is adaptable to a variety of site and
topographic conditions, it grows best on pond margins and in drainages
where soil moisture is ample but not excessive and the soil is well
aerated.

# Establishment

The slash pines are monoecious, and often hybridize with other pines
such as loblolly pine (*P. taeda*), sand pine (*P. clausa*) and longleaf
pine (*P. palustris*). They begin producing cones at approximately 10-15
years of age. The typical variety produces good cone crops every 3
years, while the south Florida variety produce good cone crops every 4
years. It has been estimated that 90% of the winged seeds from slash
pines fall within 46 m (150 feet) of the parent tree.

The male [strobili](http://www.sms.si.edu/IRLspec/#strobili) begin to
develop in June, and grow for several weeks. It enters a dormant state
until midwinter. Pollen is shed from January through February. The
female strobili develop in late August and cones mature in September,
approximately 20 months after being pollinated. Natural seed fall occurs
from October to March.

The germination occurs within two weeks following seedfall. The slash
pine seedlings in their first year are grass-like in appearance.
Seedlings can have a year grass stage similar to that of longleaf pines
(*P. palustris*). Grass-stage seedlings develop extensive root systems
and root collars (Harlow et al. 1979). Root development in influenced by
soil texture and structure, clay and clay loam soils produce larger
roots than does sandy soil. Soils with a high presence of mycorrhizae
have a positive influence on seedling root development and survival.
Growth is rapid in the first year, with seedlings reaching heights of
approximately 41 cm (16 inches).

Slash pine grown for commercial production is generally established in
plantations using genetically improved planting stock. Sites selected
for planting are usually site prepared by flat disking, chopping, or
bedding. Disking and chopping are effective on dry sandy soils where
control of competing vegetation is a problem and one is trying to reduce
the use of chemical application for competition control. However, on
sites with a shallow water table bedding will increase rooting space,
aeration and increase seedling survival and growth. On droughty sites,
bedding can be used if the site is irrigated and vegetation is
controlled. These treatments are the standard for contemporary slash
pine plantation management. Control of weeds, woody shrub, and
herbaceous species is a vital part of increased slash pine plantation
productivity.

Plantation establishment from seedling is usually with 1-2 year old bare
root seedlings or container seedlings. When out planting seedling by
hand or machine care must be taken to insure that the roots are planted
straight down to, avoid seedling mortality. Because many slash pine site
are low in available phosphorus and nitrogen each site should be soil
tested to determine the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus needed to
ensure seedling survival and volume growth

# 

# Pests and Potential Problems

Fusiform rust (*Cronartium quercuum f. sp.* *fusiforme*), annosus root
rot (*Heterobasidion annosum*), and *Fusarium moniliforme* var
*subglutinans* are the most serious pest of slash pines Fusiform rust,
an obligate parasite requiring two living host trees pine and oak leaves
to complete its life cycle. The fungus cannot spread from pine to pine,
but must return to the oak leaves to produce the spores that in turn
infect pine. The disease which develops at or near the point of
infection, result in tapered, spindle-shaped swells, called galls, on
branches and stems of pines.

Annosus root rot is a fungal disease that infects freshly cut stumps of
slash pine, and spreads to other trees by root contact. Diseased or dead
and dying trees are usually found in groups.

The slash pines can be damaged by insects pests such as the pales weevil
(*Hylobius pales*), that invades logging areas and feeds on the bark of
young seedling, girdling the stem and causing wilting and death.
Blockheaded pine sawfly (Tetralopha rosbustella) or several different
needle feeders may defoliate young trees. The black turpentine beetle
(*Dendroctonus terebrans*), engraver beetles (*Ips spp*.), can become
major problems especially in naval store plantations. The southern pine
beetle (*Dendroctonus frontalis*), is not a major of slash pine except
in areas where the growing environment has placed the trees under
stress.

# Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These materials are readily available from commercial plant sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

# 

# References

Abrahamson, W.G. 1984. *Species response to fire on the Florida Lake
Wales Ridge*. American Journal of Botany. 71(1): 35-43.

Abrahamson, W.G. and D.C. Hartnett. 1990. *Pine flatwoods and dry
prairies*, Myers, R.L. and J.J. Ewel, eds. Ecosystems of Florida.
University of Central Florida Press, Orlando, FL. 103-149 pp.

Anderson, R. 1988. *Guide to Florida trees*. Winner Enterprises, USA. 68
pp.

Breininger, D.R. and R.B. Smith. 1992. *Relationships between fire and
bird density in coastal scrub and slash pine flatwoods in Florida*.
American Midland Naturalist. 127(2): 223-240 pp.

Duncan, W.H. and M.B. Duncan. 1988. *Trees of the southeastern United
States.* University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA. 322 pp.

Eyre, F.H., ed. 1980. *Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Society  of American Foresters,* Washington, D.C. 148 pp.

Harlow, W.M., E.S. Harrar, S. Ellwood, F.M. White. 1979. *Textbook of
dendrology.* 6^th^ edition. McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, NY. 510 pp.

Hebb, E.A. and A.F. Clewell. 1976. *A remnant stand of old-growth slash
pine in the Florida panhandle.* Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club.
103(1):1-9 pp.

Jackson, J.A. 1971. *The evolution, taxonomy, distribution, past
populations and current status of the red-cockaded woodpecker*.
Thompson, R.L., ed. *The ecology and management of the red-cockaded
woodpecker:* Proceedings of a symposium. May 26-27, 1971, Folkston, GA.
Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL. pp. 4-29.

Landers, J.L. 1991. *Disturbance influences on pine traits in the
southeastern United States.* Proceedings, 17^th^ Tall Timbers fire
ecology conference; May       18-21, 1989, Tallahassee, FL. Tall Timbers
Research Station, Tallahassee, FL. 61-95 pp.

Langdon, O.G. and F. Bennett. 1976. *Management of natural stands of
slash pine.* Res. Pap. SE-147. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service,    Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Ashville, NC. 12 pp.

Lohrey, R.E. and S.V. Kossuth. 1990. *Pinus elliottii Englem. slash
pine*. Burns, R.M. and B.H. Honkala, technical coordinators. Silvics of
North America. Volume 1. Conifers. Agricultural Handb. 654. U.S.
Department of       Agriculture, Forest Service, Washington, D.C.
338-347 pp.

McCune, B. 1988. *Ecological diversity in North American pines.*
American Journal of Botany. 75(3):353-368 pp.

McCulley, R.D. 1950. *Management of natural slash pine stands in the
flatwoods of  South Florida and North Florida*. circular No. 845. U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 57 pp.

Monk, C.D. 1968. *Successional and environmental relationships of the
forest vegetation of north Central Florida.* American Midland
Naturalist. 79(2):\
441-457 pp.

Nelson, Gil.  *The Trees of Florida: A Reference and Field
Guide*[.]{.underline}  Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc., 1994.

Stevenson, George.  *Trees of Everglades National Park and the Florida
Keys.*  Homestead: Florida National Parks & Monuments Association, Inc.,
1992.

Wade, D.D. 1983. *Fire management in the slash pine ecosystem. In:
Proceedings of the managed slash pine ecosystem*, 1981, Gainesville, FL.
University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation,
Gainesville, FL. 203-227; 290-294; 301 pp.

Watkins, John W. and Sheehan, Thomas.  *Florida Landscape Plants.* 
Gainesville:  The University Presses of Florida, 1975.

Wright, H.A. and A.W. Bailey. 1982. *Fire ecology: United States and
Southern Canada*. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York, NY. 501 pp.

# Prepared By: 

*Lincoln M. Moore*,

USDA NRCS NATIONAL Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

*Jeffrey D. Walker Wilson*,

Earth Team Volunteer, USDA NRCS NATIONAL Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana

# Species Coordinator: 

# *Lincoln M. Moore*

USDA NRCS NATIONAL Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Edited: 22june06 lmm; 060803 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
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*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
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#