Western white pine is a large tree that can grow up to 60 metres. The wood is light in colour, straight-grained and nonporous with a fine and uniform texture.
It has good working qualities and is generally sawn into lumber for use in products such as windows, doors and furniture, as well as construction lumber. High-grade material is used for exterior and interior siding and millwork.
Where it grows
Western white pine is commonly found in the drier parts of Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland coast and in the wetter parts of the southern interior, particularly at low elevations. It may form nearly pure stands, but is usually found in a forest with other species.
The species thrives in a variety of environments ranging from peat bogs to dry, sandy or rocky soil. It does best on sites that are rich in nutrients and well drained, in moist valleys and on gentle northern slopes.
Did you know?
Western white pine is a very productive and desirable species considering its rapid growth, a clean main stem with minimum taper, narrow crown and non-resinous wood.
Identifiable characteristics
Western white pine is a medium- to large-sized tree that can grow up to 60 metres high and two metres in diameter and can commonly live to be 300 to 400 years old. It is usually found in closed groups of trees and has a sparse crown and short branches. When the tree is young, its bark is thin, smooth and greyish-green, and it turns darker as the tree ages, forming deep, vertical grooves with small rectangular scaly plates.
Needles occur in bunches of five, about 5 to 10 centimetres long. Slender, straight and soft to touch, they are bluish-green in colour with a whitish tinge. The edges are very finely toothed. Seed cones are cylindrical when closed, about 10 to 25 centimetres long, and they are on a two-centimetre stalk. The scales are often bent backwards when dry. The seeds have wings about three centimetres long.
