Slash Pine, Southern Yellow Pine Tree Species Overview

The slash pine tree (Pinus elliottii) is one of four southern yellow pines native to southeastern United States. Slash pine is also called southern pine, yellow slash pine, swamp pine, pitch pine, and Cuban pine. Slash pine, along with longleaf pine, is a commercially important pine tree and one of the most frequently planted timber species in North America. Two varieties are recognized: P. elliottii var. elliottii, the slash pine most frequently encountered, and P. elliottii var. densa, that grows naturally only in the southern half of peninsula Florida and in the Keys. The Slash Pine Tree Range: Slash pine has the smallest native range of the four major southern United States pines (loblolly, shortleaf, longleaf and slash). Slash pine can grow and is often planted throughout the southern United States. The pines native range includes the entire state of Florida and in the southern counties of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. Slash Pine Needs Moisture: Slash pine, in its native habitat, is common along streams and the edges of swamps, bays and hammocks of the Florida Everglades. Slash seedlings can not stand wildfire so ample soil moisture and standing water protects young seedlings from destructive fire. Improved fire protection in the South has allowed slash pine to spread to drier sites. The resulting increase in acreage was possible because of slash pines frequent and abundant seed production, rapid early growth, and ability to withstand wildfires after the sapling stage. Identification of Slash Pine: The evergreen slash pine is a medium to large tree that can often grow beyond 80 feet in height. The slash pine crown is cone-shaped during the first few years of growth but rounds and flattens as the tree ages. The tree trunk is usually straight which makes it a desirable forest product. Two to three needles grow per bundle and are about 7 inches long. The cone is just over 5 inches long. Uses of Slash Pine: Because of its rapid growth rate, slash pine has great valuable for tree planting on timber plantations, especially in the southeastern United States. Slash pine supplies a large portion of the resin and turpentine produced in the United States. History suggests that the tree has produced most of the Worlds oleoresin over the last two centuries. Slash pine is cultivated in warm climates worldwide for lumber and paper pulp. The excellent quality of lumber gives slash pine the name hard yellow pine. The pine is only rarely used as an ornamental landscape plant outside the deep South. Damaging Agents that Hurt Slash Pine: The most serious disease of slash pine is fusiform rust. Many trees are killed and others may become too deformed for high value forest products like lumber. Resistance to the disease is inherited, and several programs are underway to breed fusiform resistant strains of slash pine. Annosus root rot is another serious disease of slash pine in thinned stands. It is most damaging on soils where slash seedlings are transplanted and is not a problem in native flatwoods or shallow soils with heavy clay. Infections begin when spores germinate on fresh stumps and spread to adjacent trees through root contact.