Pinus banksiana

Jack pine is in the pine or Pinaceae family and is a North American species with a native range east of the Rockies, in Canada from the McKenzie River in the far north to Nova Scotia, and the northeastern United States from Minnesota to Maine. In the western portion of its range, it readily hybridizes with Lodegpole pine (P. contorta), a closely related species.

Jack pine is known for its scrubby and bent appearance often found when exposed to extreme conditions, on very thin soil or in wet peat bogs. But on moderate sites, it often is a healthy, straight tree suitable for harvesting for manufacture into lumber.

• It is a 2-needle pine, with needles twisted and 2–4 cm long, 1.0-1.5 mm across, pointed tips, semi-persistent sheath 3–6 mm long; needles persist on the tree for 2–3 years. Branches are in yearly whorls.
• Species is monoecious; male pollen cones are cylindrical, yellow-green, in clusters at twig tips; females are oval, reddish, maturing in 2 years.
• Seed cones are 3–5 cm long, distinctly curved at the tip, nearly sessile (no stocks) with a small prickles on the scales. Most remain closed (are serotinous) for many years until opened by a temperature of about 50°C due to a fire or higher ground temperature around a fallen cone. Interestingly, intense cold (-46°C) can also cause cones to open.
• Bark is red-brown, scaly, developing ridges when older.