365 Urban Species. #049: Eastern White Pine
Urban species #049: Eastern white pine Pinus strobus
Eastern white pine has been a valuable and important tree in New England for centuries. Before the revolution, the British navy found its straight tall trunks perfect for the masts of its ships. During the revolution, the resource was a point of contention, and the white pine was featured on several revolutionary flags of New England.
The twentieth century development of Boston's neighborhoods was fueled by white pine from New Hampshire. Millions of trees were felled from the forests of the White Mountains to build countless wooden triple-decker residences in Cambridge, and especially Somerville, which is still the most densely populated city in the United States.
Despite intensive harvesting, the white pine is still the most common conifer in New England, and it is also the tallest. It towers above the other trees in the forests of the Boston suburban area, and appears in some neighborhoods of the city. The white pine above is in Cambridge near Harvard Square.
White pine needles come in bundles of five.