Uses
Toxic parts
Edible uses
Notes
Young cones - cooked[2]. Inner bark[4]. No more information is given, but the bark can usually be eaten raw or cooked. It can also be dried, then ground into a powder and used as a thickener in soups or can be mixed with cereal flours when making bread etc[K]. A refreshing drink is made from the leaves[5][2].
A vanillin flavouring is obtained as a by-product of other resins that are released from the pulpwood[3].Flowers
Inner bark
Seed
Material uses
Various native North American Indian tribes made a string from the long roots of this species and used it to stitch the bark of their canoes[7][4]. In a sandy soil, the roots of this species extend near the surface of the soil for perhaps 10 metres and are easy to pull out of the ground for their entire length. When gathered, they were made into coils and sunk beneath the surface of water until the outer bark had loosened from the root. They were then peeled and split in half, each half being a serviceable cord for sewing together canoes and bark strips intended for the roofs of wigwams and other purposes[4]. The needles contain a substance called terpene, this is released when rain washes over the needles and it has a negative effect on the germination of some plants, including wheat[8]. Oleo-resins are present in the tissues of all species of pines, but these are often not present in sufficient quantity to make their extraction economically worthwhile[9]. The resins are obtained by tapping the trunk, or by destructive distillation of the wood[10][9]. In general, trees from warmer areas of distribution give the higher yields[9]. Turpentine consists of an average of 20% of the oleo-resin[9] and is separated by distillation[10][9]. Turpentine has a wide range of uses including as a solvent for waxes etc, for making varnish, medicinal etc[10]. Rosin is the substance left after turpentine is removed. This is used by violinists on their bows and also in making sealing wax, varnish etc[10]. Pitch can also be obtained from the resin and is used for waterproofing, as a wood preservative etc[4].
Wood - fairly light, soft, coarse, weak[11][12][13][7]. It weighs 27lb per cubic foot[14]. It is mainly used for fuel, though occasionally also for posts, pulp and lumber[11][12][13][7].Medicinal uses(Warning!)
A poultice of the inner bark has been used in the treatment of deep cuts[4].
The leaves have been used in a herbal steam bath to clear congested lungs[4]. They have also been used as a fumigant to revive a comatose patient[4].Unknown part
Ecology
Ecosystem niche/layer
Ecological Functions
Nothing listed.
Forage
Nothing listed.
Shelter
Nothing listed.
Propagation
Practical Plants is currently lacking information on propagation instructions of Pinus banksiana. Help us fill in the blanks! Edit this page to add your knowledge.
Cultivation
A fast growing tree when young[3], but growth soon slows down and the tree is short-lived in Britain with no tree known to be older than 75 years[19]. New shoots can be almost 1 metre long, though the tree remains spindly[19]. An open-topped tree, though plants sometimes have a shrubby habit of growth[13]. They can start producing seed when only a few years old[13]. The cones are 4- 5cm long[13]. They ripen in their second year but can remain un-opened on the tree for a number of years, only opening and shedding their seed after a forest fire has heated them to at least 50°c[7]. This makes them one of the first colonizers of burnt land[7]. Cultivated for timber in C. Europe[20]. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly[3]. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus[3]. This species hybridises in the wild with P. contorta where their ranges overlap[7]. There are several named varieties selected for their ornamental value[3]. Leaf secretions inhibit the germination of seeds, thereby inhibiting the growth of other plants below the tree[21].
Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[3].Crops
Problems, pests & diseases
Associations & Interactions
There are no interactions listed for Pinus banksiana. Do you know of an interaction that should be listed here? edit this page to add it.
Polycultures & Guilds
There are no polycultures listed which include Pinus banksiana.
Descendants
Cultivars
Varieties
None listed.
Subspecies
None listed.
Full Data
This table shows all the data stored for this plant.
References
- ? Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0395467225 (1990-00-00)
- ? 2.02.12.22.3 Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books ISBN 3874292169 (1984-00-00)
- ? 3.003.013.023.033.043.053.063.073.083.093.103.11 Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press ISBN 0-333-47494-5 (1992-00-00)
- ? 4.04.14.24.34.44.54.64.74.84.9 Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. ISBN 0-88192-453-9 (1998-00-00)
- ? 5.05.1 McPherson. A. and S. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press ISBN 0-253-28925-4 (1977-00-00)
- ? 6.06.1 Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. ISBN 0-02-544950-8 (1974-00-00)
- ? 7.07.17.27.37.47.57.67.77.8 Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. ISBN 0889025649 (1989-00-00)
- ? 8.08.1 Allardice.P. A - Z of Companion Planting. Cassell Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-304-34324-2 (1993-00-00)
- ? 9.09.19.29.39.49.5 Howes. F. N. Vegetable Gums and Resins. Faber ()
- ? 10.010.110.210.310.410.510.610.710.810.9 Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 (1984-00-00)
- ? 11.011.111.2 Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim (1959-00-00)
- ? 12.012.112.2 Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable ISBN 0094579202 (1974-00-00)
- ? 13.013.113.213.313.413.5 Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. ISBN 0-486-20278-X (1965-00-00)
- ? 14.014.1 Britton. N. L. Brown. A. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Dover Publications. New York. ISBN 0-486-22642-5 (1970-00-00)
- ? McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books ISBN 0-901361-21-6 (1985-00-00)
- ? 16.016.116.2 Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray (1981-00-00)
- ? Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm ISBN 0-7470-2801-X (1987-00-00)
- ? 18.018.1 F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press (1951-00-00)
- ? 19.019.119.2 Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO ISBN 0-11-710012-9 (1975-00-00)
- ? ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press (1964-00-00)
- ? Philbrick H. and Gregg R. B. Companion Plants. Watkins (1979-00-00)
- ? Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. (1950-00-00)
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