The Virginia pine, Pinus virginiana, is also known as Jersey pine and poverty pine. It is an evergreen conifer that prefers to grow where no other evergreen and few deciduous trees can grow. By preferring to grow in poor and dry soils, it minimizes competition. However, these soil conditions stunt the tree so that it is often found shrub-like and scraggly. It is not usually considered an attractive specimen for landscaping, and it does not produce lumber as effectively as other pines. Other than for use in reclaiming strip-mined land and for Christmas trees, the tree is not often cultivated. It is found in abandoned fields and lots, and on barren hillsides and embankments. It is observed only infrequently in the Atlanta area.
The Virginia pine is native to areas including and on either side of the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern United States. It ranges from southern New York and New Jersey down to Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.
The Virginia pine is a small to medium-sized tree. It most often grows 15 to 40 feet tall, but it may grow 70 feet or taller. The tallest tree known is 122 feet in height, located in extreme NE Georgia. Trees have been known to live 150 years. Virginia pine trunks may be straight or contorted. Long, outstretched limbs spring from the trunk irregularly, and dead branch stubs are almost always present. Bark on the tree is thin and reddish-brown, becoming very scaly and 
plated with age. Foliage on the tree has a fine texture, due to the tree’s short needles. The tree’s needles are 1 ½ to 3 inches long, and they are found in fascicle bundles of 2 (V looks like two fingers to remember). The fascicle sheath is approximately 1/16 inch long. Needles are twisted, medium dark green, and thicker and stiffer than spruce pine (which is thicker than shortleaf pine). The needles remain on the tree for three to four years. Mature trees have a broad, flat and irregular crown of fine texture.
Seed cones on the Virginia pine are the same color as the bark. They are attached directly to the branch or have a thick stem, and they are held to the tree tightly. An attempt to remove a cone will leave one feeling the cone is not 
attached to but is an extension of the tree. They mature during their second autumn, and persist on the tree for years. Scales on cones have protuberances on the end called umbos, and they are armed with a slender, sharp prickle. Cones are egg-shaped and 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches long. Pollination is from male cylindrical, orange-brown structures found near branch tips. Blooming occurs in spring, and pollination is by wind.
The Virginia pine has been and continues to be a useful tree. According to several sources, Cherokee Indians used various parts of the tree for many ailments, including fever, diarrhea, rheumatism, colds, swollen breasts, hemorrhoids, swollen testicles caused by mumps, constipation, 
intestinal worms, colic, and measles. The tree is a popular Christmas tree species in the Southeast, after pruning to improve shape. It is used for pulpwood and less so for lumber. Its ability to grow on poor sites makes it valuable for reclamation of strip mined land. It is used as cover for dry, barren sites. Its rugged character may be useful in some landscapes.
When I found a cluster of Virginia pines at the corner of Anneewakee Road and Chapel Hill Road near where I work, it was only with the help of a certified arborist friend. I knew they were around, but I had not been looking in the right places. This was an important find, nearly completing my examination of the many pines I see.
