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   Pine trees are mentioned in the Bible in Nehemiah 8:15, Isaiah 41:19, and Isaiah 60:13, but there was a confusion in the translation where the ones identified as pines were actually firs, Abies Mill., and vice versa although two of the three times pine is mentioned so is fir, but fir is mentioned several more times most notably to build the temple.

   In 1997 the state tree of Alabama was specified as the southern longleaf pine, Pinus palustris Mill., due there being lots of confusion resulting from southern pine being a generic lumber term for several species.  The specific epithet means deep, such as in the standing water of swamp, but this seems to a misnomer and would have better been applied to loblolly pine, P. taeda L., considering that longleaf pine is a facultative upland species especially the mountain longleaf pine, which ranges at least as far north as Sardis, Alabama.  Longleaf pine has both the longest needles and largest cones of any pine in the Eastern United States, along with the unique feature of white buds.  An adaption to frequent fires is known as the grass stage where seedling looks like a clumps of grass with succulent needles that protect the buds from fire while a thick stem and significant taproot is developed before the crown bolts upward to get the buds above the typical low fire that occurs in the Southeast as opposed to a devastating crown fire that most people when the imagine a fire partially due to the overly successful Smokey Bear ad campaign.  As a result fire suppression has had a negative effect on fire dependent ecosystems.  In the southeast the intensity of a fire depends on the fuel load that build up relative to the frequency of fire.  A fire frequency of 2-3 year is adaquate to sustain a fire dependent habitat, and 10-15 years between fires should allow any necessary regeneration of such an ecosystem, but fire suppression for 50-100 years will be devastating as I saw at Philmont Scout Ranch in June of 2009 due to the lightning initiate Ponil Canyon Fire Complex from earlier in the decade.  A drought can cause the effects of fires in the Southeast to slide down the scale one notch, thus causing the fires to behave like the typical fire in Southern California,  The Alabama champion longleaf pine is 114 feet tall 123 inches around the trunk, and has a 53 average width of the limb spread.  William Bartram reported that the sight of smoke from distant forest fires was nearly constant when he was traveling in the Southeast.

   Loblolly pine is lumped in with southern pine especially considering that the distribution gets scarce in Tennessee where it is considered an invasive exotic north of the natural range.  This tree grows fast and is usually planted in tree farms and can be harvested as often as every 20 years.  I’ve seen the relatively large cones being sold for decorations at what seems to be an exorbitant price of $4 for about six quarts.  There is a hybrid with longleaf pine that is called P. ×sondereggeri H.H. Chapm. [palustris × taeda], and it may be available as a cull from large forest seedling nurseries.  The most interesting thing about this hybrid is the story about how it was named.  One of two bitter rivals named it for the other and when questioned about why he would bestow such an honor, his reply explained that it was a fitting honor because hybrid means illegitimate.  The Alabama champion loblolly pine is 134 feet tall, 169 inches around, and averages 91 feet wide horizontally between limb tips when through the trunk the longest way then perpendicular to that direction.

   Slash pine, P. elliotii Engelm., is similar to loblolly pine in practical uses although the range is limited to the Deep South.  Distinctive identification characteristics are needles in 2s and 3s rather than just 3s of the previous discussed species, and orange cones.  Good places to see slash pine in Alabama are at Conecuh National Forest and on Dolphin Island assuming they survived the hurricanes unlike most of them at Gulf State Park.  The common name refers to the method of slashing trunks to extract resins for the production of turpentine and pitch for use as waterproofing in wooden ships.  There is currently no Alabama state champion slash pine.

   Shortleaf pine, P. echinata Mill., is found in more states than any other pine.  The cones can be very small and the needles are short straight and in pairs.  An important key is resin glands on the bark so don’t be fooled by crooks wanting to use a clearcut to ‘save’ all your pine trees claiming they are infected by pine beetles by showing you resin ducts and telling you that it was bored by pine beetles.  The Alabama state champion shortleaf pine is found in Madison County where it grows 91 feet tall, has a girth of 129 inches, and an average limb spread of 56 feet.

One of the more interesting southern pines is spruce pine, P. glabra Walt., which is a large but relatively infrequent species of mixed forest.  The needles are in 2s, but the most distinctive feature is the bark, which looks more like that of a hardwood tree than a pine tree.  The specific epithet refers to the smooth twigs, which is unlike other pines where the twigs are rough.  The Alabama champion spruce pine is 125 feet tall, 146 inches in circumference, and has an average limb spread of 91 feet.

   A couple of obscure smaller southern pines are pond pine, P. serotina Michx., and sand pine, P. clausa (Capm. ex Engelm.) Vasey ex Sarg.  They have needles in 2s and the former has cones that do not open unless there is a fire, and it even sprouts from the roots if the crown in killed by a fire.  A couple of species ranging north of Alabama with similar fire adaptations are pitch pine, P. rigida Mill., and Table Mountain pine, P. pungens Lamb.  The Alabama state champions of pond pine and sand pine are respectively 128 and 45 feet tall, 98 and 60 inches in girth, and have average limb spreads of 45 and 33 feet.

   The only species of pine, other than loblolly pine and shortleaf pine, that is actually native to extreme northeast Alabama is Virginia pine, P. virginiana Mill.  This species is rather scrubby and has some derogatory colloquial names the least of which, getting the most use in Virginia, is New Jersey pine considering that it is also relatively abundant in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.  The needles are in 2s, but unlike shortleaf pine they are twisted.  The bark has a relatively smooth appearance until the thinner bark plates start to curl up thus bearing a resemblance to tufts of leg hair on shin sized trunks perhaps explaining the vernacular name of shin pine, while the bark of larger trees get a finer plate like apperance than loblolly, shortleaf, and longleaf.  As expected a Virginia pine found in DeSoto State Park was recently declared the Alabama state champion.  It is 93 feet tall, has a girth of 71 inches, and an average branch spread of 31 feet that gives a total point value of 172 just 13 points shy of the national champion.

   So far all of these species have all been types of yellow pine, which is also a lumber term due to the color of the wood especially when compared to eastern white pine, P. strobus L.  White pines have 5 needles rather than 2 or 3 per fascicle, and branches in distinct annual whorls.  Pollen evidence found in core samples of natural ponds indicates that eastern white pine was found in Alabama during the last ice age before retreating north although it now may be becoming naturalized near planted populations, but there is no state champion and white pine would probably only be eligible if naturalized seedling are evident in the vicinity.

   On a couple trips out west to Philmont Scout Ranch I got to see several other species of pine, including ponderosa pine, P. ponderosa C. Lawson, which smells like vanilla and/or butterscotch.  The other three were probably two needle pinion pine, P. edulus Engelm., southwestern white pine, P. strobiforis Engelm., and bristlecone pine, P. aristata Engelm., but I either didn’t see or notice any limber pine, P. flexilis James, which is also reported from Colfax County where the camp is located.  The pinion pine has large edible seed that are called pinenuts, I've had them before and the flavor is a little like pine resin, but they are not in season until autumn thus those seen at Philmont were nowhere near ready at the time I was there, but there was lots of sign where the wildlife such as mini-bears (chipmunks) had utilized the crop from previous years.