Welcome to Station 7, please click on the links below to learn more information.
Interesting sites near this station
White Pine
The Eastern White Pine (pinus strobus) is a large pine tree that is native to eastern North America. It can grow almost anywhere, including well-drained or sandy soil, humid climates, boggy areas and rocky highlands.
In a mixed forest the white pine can grow to height that tower over other hardwood trees. It can grow up to 3 ft annually between the ages of 15 to 45 years, with slower growth noted before and after this time. Trees as tall as 157 ft have been found across North America. White pines grow so tall in fact that during the 17th and 18th centuries they were used as masts for ships and were known as “Mast Pines”.
The branches of the white pine are spaced on average every 18 inches on the trunk with 5 or 6 branches appearing like wagon wheel spokes. Mature trees are often 200 years old but some have been found to be as old as 500.
The Leaves or needles are soft, flexible and bluish-green to silver in color and are regularly arranged into bundles of five. The needles are 2 1/2 to 5 inches long and are shed at the end of the second growing season.
Seed cones are slender and long with a rounded apex that contain seeds which are dispersed by the wind. Cone production peaks every 3 to 5 years.
White pine cones are usually 4 to 8 inches in length and slightly curved. The scales are thin and never prickly.
White pine bark – when young the bark is smooth and greenish grey in color. As the tree matures, the bark will turn a greyish-red with layers of scales forming ridges that are broken into irregular blocks.
In younger trees the measurement of growth can be seen on the trunk between the branches. The distance between each set of branches indicates how much the tree has grown. This can be affected by weather conditions, such as a drought when the tree will grow less, leaving a shorter space between the branches.
White pine trees are valuable to the wildlife within the forest because they provide food and shelter for numerous forest birds, small mammals and insects who eat the bark, buds, foliage and cones.
Can you guess the age of the trees?
While walking the trail see if you can determine the age of the smaller trees by counting the spaces between the branches on trunk.