Provenance and progeny variation in pitch pine from the Atlantic Coastal Plain

A test of open-pollinated pitch pine families from 17 different locations on the Atlantic Coastal Plain was evaluated at 12 years of age. Genetic variation for growth was almost totally on the provenance level and was detectable among families within provenances in only a f e ~ , cases. Mean volume decreased with latitude and also with distance of the seed origin from the test site. Provenances with the largest mean volume per tree came from locations 5.3 and 24.8 km distant from the test site and those with the smallest, from 349 and 388 km distant. The frequency of trees with serotinous cones varied from 2% to 48% and followed closely the pattern observed at the provenance origin. The frequency of epicormic sprouts was generally high, but differed significantly among provenances. FOR. Scr. 33(2):558-564. ADDITIONAL