Shortleaf Pine
Shortleaf pine once shaped vast Ozark landscapes, and restoration is rebuilding the open, fire-influenced woodland beneath its crowns.
Artwork inspired by Thomas Hart Benton
Needles usually occur in bundles of two or three and are shorter than those of many southern pines. Older trunks develop broad reddish plates, while young trees can resprout after damage from a distinctive basal crook.
Check needle bundles and small prickled cones, and do not assume every Missouri pine is native—many roadside and plantation species were introduced. Visit managed pine-bluestem woodland where prescribed fire has reopened the understory. Evergreen; cones easiest autumn–winter.
- Best clue
- Tall native pine with short needles in bundles of two or three and small cones
- Habitat
- Ozark ridges, dry slopes, woodland, and restored pine-bluestem forest
- Regional status
- Missouri’s only native pine species
Quick guide
- Primary field mark
- Needles in twos or threes
- Independent mark
- Basal resprouting crook
Recognize Shortleaf Pine in its plant community
- Recognition
- Tall native pine with short needles in bundles of two or three and small cones
- Habitat
- Concentrate on Ozark ridges, dry slopes, woodland, and restored pine-bluestem forest.
- Natural history
- Needles usually occur in bundles of two or three and are shorter than those of many southern pines.
- Evidence to record
- Record the crown, plated bark, needle bundles, cones, slope, and neighboring trees. Use fallen material for close inspection rather than stripping a living branch.
Good to know
Shortleaf is Missouri’s only native pine, and young trees can resprout after fire damage from a distinctive basal crook near the trunk.
Notice these
- Needles in twos or threes
- Small prickled cones
- Reddish bark plates
- Basal resprouting crook