O-Pine-Inated Report On Trees

We're still vacationing in Florida, and watching lots of hockey. We did throw in a real circus last weekend. The contrast of the heat under the big top to the chill of ice arenas was similar to walking out of a warm home and into -30 degree temps.

We ventured to Daytona on Jan. 12 to watch the middle grandson. He had two games: a tie and a big win. The youngest had games in Orlando. His dad took him. He is the goalie and notched a shut-out. The oldest played in Fort Myers and scored the winning goal in a shoot-out. We were only able to watch one grandson that day. We plan to attend the Lightning/Kings game Jan. 14.

Back to "gardening." The flora here is vastly different than that of Montana. I've been observing the native pines here, both during our dog-walking forays in the neighborhood and alongside the highways whilst driving to hockey games and practices.

Prevalent in the neighborhood are loblolly pines, one of seven varieties of native Florida pines. It's also known as "old field pine" for its tendency to invade abandoned agricultural fields. The largest ones will reach heights of 150', with a 4' diameter trunk. The needles run from 3" to 9" in length, while it's cones are 2.5" to 4", and very prickly. The name comes from lob, which was a description of the bubbling surface of a thick, boiling porridge. Lolly was a British term for a soup or broth. The bark appears that way. In the United States, lolly meant a mud hole. These pines like low, damp areas.

Another Florida pine is the slash pine, named after " slashes," a swamp ground overgrown with trees and bushes. It's sometimes called swamp pine, or yellow slash. Its needles are 4" to 10" long, while its cones are 2 3/4" to 6" long.

The other five native Florida pines are: sand pine, longleaf pine, pond pine, shortleaf pine, and spruce pine. I like that last one because its wood is used for soundboards in musical instruments, such as the pianos I play. It's also known as tonewood.

In contrast to Florida, Montana grows at least 20 species of pines. I won't name all of them. You're welcome.

The ponderosa pine can reach heights of 220', while the loblolly of Florida only reaches 150'. The ponderosa and loblolly pines are used for utility poles, pulpwood, and veneers. All pines can have their resin distilled for turpentine.

The white bark pine is fire resistant. It's also a food source for small animals and birds. Its inner bark is rich in vitamins and sugar. Some pine nuts are harvested from it, but most come from a different pine. The resin of the white bark pine is used in waterproofing, and can be mixed with ash to make glue.

That's my report for this week.