- Pinus, from the Greek, pitus
(pitys), "pine or fir tree"
- banksiana, after Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820), British naturalist
and botanist on Cook's first great voyage (1768-1771); some 75 species
bear Banks' name.
- Common Name, from "Jack possibly from use of wood in making levers,
- Other common names include Eastern Jack, Gray Pine, Black Pine, Black
Jack Pine, Prince's Pine, Princess Pine, Banks Pine, Banksian Pine,
Hudson Bay Pine, Scrub Pine, Northern Scrub Pine, pin gris
- Kingdom Plantae, the Plants
- Division Coniferophyta, the Conifers
- Class Pinopsida
- Order Pinales
- Family Pinaceae, the Pines, Spruce, and Firs
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 183319
- Also known as Pinus divaricata; Pinus sylvestris
- Hybridizes with Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta
var. latifolia) where their ranges overlap in central and western
- Leaves 3/4"- 2" evergreen needles, in bundles of
- Height at maturity usually 55'-65' but can attain
100' with a diameter of 25". On extremely harsh, sandy sites, is small
- Age. Begins showing signs of decay by age 75, but
can live more than 200 years. A 243-year-old jack has been found in
- Roots of mature trees may penetrate to 9' though
the abundant lateral roots are mostly confined to the upper 18" of soil;
develops a taproot as a seedling and maintains it to maturity.
- Cones resinous and closed.
- The smallest of the three native pines.
- Distinguished from White Pine (Pinus
strobus) by having needles in clusters of two.
- Distinguished from Red Pine (Pinus resinosa)
by its shorter needles and smaller cones.
- Canada and the north-central and northeastern United States.
- Establishes after fire in boreal forests, tundra transition areas,
dry flats and hills, and on sandy soils; it also occurs on sand dunes,
rock outcrops, bald rock ridges, and lake shores.
- Usually grows in dry, acidic sandy soils with a lower pH limit of
4.0, but also loamy soil, thin soil over bedrock, peat, and soil over
permafrost. Does not usually grow in moderately alkaline soil, but can
grow in calcareous soils up to pH 8.2 if normal mycorrhizal fungi are
- Begins to show signs of decadence by age 75, decreases in frequency
by 150 years, and may disappear completely after 200, although some
relic jack pine survive nearly 250 years.
- Succeeded in the absence of fire by longer lived species such as Red
Pine (Pinus resinosa) or White
Pine (Pinus strobus), or by more
shade-tolerant species such as Balsam Fir (Abies
balsamea) and Black Spruce (Picea
mariana). Black Spruce, which often seeds in at the same time
as Jack Pine, grows slower but lives longer, becoming codominant after
90 years, eventually succeeding Jack Pine. On the driest, harshest sites,
Jack Pine may persist as climax species.
- One of the least shade-tolerant trees in its native range; only aspens,
Paper Birch, and Tamarack are less tolerant.
- Dominant tree in southern boreal forest. Associates are almost always
subdominant except for Aspen (Populus spp.), Paper Birch (Betula
papyrifera), and Red Pine (Pinus
resinosa) which may be codominant.
- Root borers, root feeders, shoot and stem borers, leaf feeders,
needle miners, and sucking insects affect the survival and growth
of seedlings. Many other insects feed on cones. Young stands susceptible
to defoliation by the Redheaded Pine Sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei).
- Jack Pine Budworm (Choristoneura pinus) defoliates mature
trees. There is often a 20-30 year lag after major fire before the
budworm invades. The regenerated stand does not produce abundant
cones on average for about 20 years and the budworm population thrives
in years of abundant cone production.
- Disease: susceptible to many diseases including rust
- Best adapted of all boreal conifers to fire. With
medium thick bark, mature individuals have only moderate fire tolerance,
but populations survive because of delayed seed release from serotinous
cones, early reproductive maturity, fast growth in full sun, and preference
for mineral soil seedbeds.
- Fire intervals generally less than 50 years. Based
on fire scars, the shortest and longest times between major fires in
Jack Pine forests of northern Ontario were 5 and 30 years. Major stand-replacing
fires in the BWCA often occur in years of summer drought.
- Accumulation of litter and debris on the forest floor over time increases
the likelihood of moderate or severe fire. A lichen mat, a highly flammable
and continuous fuel source at ground level, develops within 40 years
and is important in supporting fires in Jack
- Mature individuals survive low-severity fires. Jack Pine is typically
killed by crown fires or by moderate-severity surface fires. Double
fire scars are fairly common, but triple fire scars are rare, suggesting
that an individual tree may survive only one or two surface fires in
- Establishment is limited primarily by the depth of organic matter
and, therefore, progressively increases with greater fire severity.
Regeneration is typically better after summer fires than spring fires
- Dense, young stands are extremely susceptible to crowning wildfire
which is hard to control.
- Trees: Balsam Fir (Abies
balsamea), Red Maple (Acer rubrum),
Tamarack (Larix laricina), White
Spruce (Picea glauca), Balsam
Poplar (Populus balsamifera),
Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata),
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides),
Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa), Northern Red Oak (Quercus
- Shrubs: Green Alder (Alnus
crispa), Bearberry (Arctostaphylos
uva-ursi), Bunchberry (Cornus
canadensis), Beaked Hazel (Corylus
cornuta), Labrador Tea (Ledum
groenlandicum), Twinflower (Linnaea
borealis), Prickly Rose (Rosa
acicularis), Velvetleaf Blueberry (Vaccinium
myrtilloides), Mountain Cranberry (Vaccinium
- Herbs: Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia
nudicaulis), Large Leaf Aster (Aster
macrophyllus), Mocasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule),Dwarf
Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera
repens), Canada Mayflower, (Maianthemum
canadense), Wintergreen (Pyrola spp.)
- Ground Covers: Reindeer lichen (Cladonia
spp.) on drier sites and feathermosses, especially Mountain
Fern Moss (Hylocomium splendens)
and Schreber's Feathermoss (Pleurozium
schreberi) on moister sites.
- Mammals: Seeds eaten by rodents (red squirrels, chipmunks,
red-backed voles, white-footed mice) and birds. Browsed by white-tailed
deer, caribou, and snowshoe hare. (Moose do not prefer this browse).
Stands provide cover to mammals such as moose and snowshoe hares. Debris
and seedlings in burned stands provide cover for smaller mammals such
as red-backed voles.
- Birds: The federally endangered Kirtland's warbler
is endemic to Jack Pine barrens
- Was pushed south during the last Ice Age, forming a band of Jack Pine
forest from the Mississippi River valley eastward onto the Continental
Shelf between northern North Carolina and Central Georgia.
- Began leaving the southeast about 15,000 years ago, finally disappearing
from Tennessee about 12,750 years ago. The returning Jack Pines arrived
in Connecticutt about 12,000 years ago and entered the southern reaches
of the White Spruce forest in Minnesota about 10,700 years ago, preceeding
all other northbound tree species except Red Pine (Pinus
resinosa). Jack was jioined by Paper Birch (Betula
papyrifera) and Alder (Alnus spp.) about 1,000 years
later and, with the collapse of the southern White Spruce forest, became
the dominant species in our area within a few centuries time (ie, circa
- An important commercial timber species in the United States and Canada,
the moderately hard and heavy wood is used for pulpwood, lumber, telephone
poles, fence posts, mine timbers, and railroad ties.
- Planted for Christmas trees.
- Territorial tree of the Northwest Territories.
- Reproduces by seed.
- Minimum seed bearing age in open stands is 5-10 years. Some seed is
produced every year and serotinous cones accumulate in the crown. A
mature stand may have as many as 2 million seeds per acre stored in
unopened cones. Because of abundant seed production, few mature trees
are necessary to regenerate a stand.
- Cones, sealed shut by a resinous bond, require high
temperatures to open. This heat is usually provided by fire, but hot,
dry weather (air temperatures of at least 80 degrees F.) opens some
- The winged seeds are the smallest of the native pines and are dispersed
by gravity and wind. The effective dispersal range is about 110'-130'
or two tree heights.
- Seeds usually germinate rapidly after release when the 10-day mean
maximum air temperature is 65 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Seeds occasionally
exhibit partial dormancy which is probably broken naturally by heat
from fire. Seeds remain viable in closed cones for years, but viability
decreases over time. Up to 50% of 20-year-old seeds may be viable.
- Exposed mineral soil or thin residual humus of about 1/4" or less
provide the best seedbeds; deeper humus has an adverse effect on establishment;
humus deeper than 1 1/2" is a low-quality seedbed. Successful germination
and establishment usually occurs only after fire removes humus.
- Germination and initial survival sometimes improve with partial shade,
but the positive effect of shade eventually becomes negative because
seedlings soon require higher light levels. Seedling survival may be
low if drought conditions follow germination.
- During its first 20 years, one of the fastest growing conifers in
- Staminate and ovulate cone primordia are initiated in late summer
and then go dormant until spring. Pollen shedding usually late spring
or early summer but highly dependent on the weather. Fertilization 13
months after pollination. Cones mature in late summer or early fall,
2 years after initiation.
- Maximum growth occurrs under 43% light and higher.
- The resin of serotinous cones melts when heated, usually at temperatures
in excess of 140 degrees Fahrenheit Seed viability is not markedly affected
by heating, unless the cone ignites, which kills the seed. Seeds unprotected
by cones remain viable when exposed to high temperatures until the wings
ash and the seed coats crack. Crown torching does not ignite cones because
the high temperatures are unlikely to last more than 3 minutes.
- Hardy to USDA Zone 3 (average minimum annual temperature -40ºF)
- Cultural Requirements
- Full sun
- Well-drained, sandy loam soil, pH 4.6 - 6.5
- Medium to dry moisture
- Size 20'-30'W x 50'H
- An uncommon and underutilized landscape tree.
Last updated on
4 March, 2006