Pine family, Pinaceae
Origin: eastern North America
Habitat in the original area: shady and damp places in forests, from lowlands to 1,700 metres above sea level
Habitus: A tree growing to the height of 30 metres with a wide pyramidal crown. The bark is brown, then furrowed in old age.
Leaf: The short-stalked needles grow on twigs in two rows. They have a petiole. They are up to 1.5 centimetres long, deep green, with two white stripes on the reverse side. They narrow from the base to the top and are not cut out at the tip. They have a finely serrated edge (which can be seen under a magnifying glass). On the upper side of the twigs, other smaller needles grow in the middle.
Bloom, fruit: It produces yellow spherical male cones and green oval female cones. The cones ripen from August to September, and they are only 1.5 centimetres long, pendulous and indehiscent. They release winged seeds over the winter and persist on the tree until the following year.
Interesting fact: It is very tolerant of shade.
