Slash Pine

Pinus elliottii, commonly known as slash pine, is a conifer tree in the Southeastern United States. Slash pine is named after the 'slashes' – swampy ground overgrown with trees and bushes – that constitute its habitat. Other common names include swamp pine, yellow slash pine, and southern Florida pine. Historically, slash pine has been an important economic timber for naval stores, turpentine, and resin. Slash pine has two different varieties: Pinus elliottii var. elliottii and Pinus elliottii var. densa. This tree is fast-growing, but not very long-lived by pine standards (to 200 years). It reaches heights of 18–30 m (59–98 ft) with a trunk diameter of 0.6–0.8 m (2.0–2.6 ft). The leaves are needle-like, very slender, in clusters of two or three, and are 18–24 cm (7.1–9.4 in) long. The cones are glossy red-brown, 5–15 cm (2.0–5.9 in) in length with a short (2–3 mm or 0.079–0.118 in), thick prickle on each scale. It is known for its conical shape. It may be distinguished from the related loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) by the somewhat longer, glossier needles and larger red-brown cones, and from longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) by the shorter, more slender needles and smaller cones with less broad scales. There are two described varieties of Pinus elliotii. However, recent genetic studies have indicated that the varieties may not be more closely related to each other than they are to other pines in the Southeast. If this is the case, re-classifying these varieties as separate species would be warranted. Slash pine (Pinus elliottii) can hybridize with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), sand pine (Pinus clausa), and long leaf pine (Pinus palustris).