White Pine (Eastern White Pine)

This is the largest conifer in the northeastern United States. The tallest of these trees in Ohio is a 137-foot giant in Ashland County. The bark on young trees is smooth and gray, while on older trees it is broken into small rectangular blocks. It prefers moist, sandy loam soils. It is native only to a small portion of northeastern Ohio, but has been planted throughout most of the state. This tree is important for its lumber and is used extensively in reforestation. In the days of wooden sailing ships the long, straight trunks of this tree provided many ships' masts.