PITCH PINE (Pinus rigida, Mill.). 50 to 75 feet. Irreg ular, loose-headed tree, with short trunk and gnarled limbs. Bark thick, dark purplish red, with wide, scaly plates between deep, irregular fissures; limbs rough, twigs green, becoming orange. Wood brittle, soft, pale red, coarse-grained, used for charcoal and fuel, rarely for lumber. Leaves in 3's, stiff, dark green, 3 to 5 inches long, standing out from stem, in black, persistent sheaths. Deciduous during second year. Flowers
clustered, short-stemmed, staminate yellow spikes; pistillate pale green with rose tinge. Fruit ripe after two seasons, sol itary or clustered, ovate cones, brown, 1 to 3 inches long, with recurved prickles on the flat scales. Persistent many years, often swallowed up in the wood. Dist.: New Brunswick to Georgia; west to Ontario and Kentucky.