White pine is a source of medicine, inspiration, building materials, and the pleasant concoction known as pine needle tea.
Pines have a powerful place in the human mind. Almost everyone can identify them (although many people mistakenly lump other conifers under their name). White pines are the tallest of northeastern trees, commonly over 100 feet high, with recorded individuals up to 250 feet. Their long, soft needles counterpoint towering strength with a quality of gentleness, while their evergreen nature makes them a symbol for eternal life. The hush of a needle-floored pine grove, like the sighing of wind in the boughs, soothes the psyche and elevates the spirit with a taste of awe.
- Identification
Spruces, cedars, firs, larches, and hemlocks all have needles under an inch long, but pines have longer, slender needles, which grow in little bundles. White pines are the only northeastern species with five needles per bundle. Red, shortleaf, scrub, jack , Scotch, and mountain pines have two needles per bundle. Pitch, swamp, loblolly, and longleaf pines have three. White pines feature a faint white stripe along each needle.
- Medicinal Uses
White pines provide superb medicine for colds and coughs, as well as wounds, and it’s easy to make a delicious, vitamin-rich tea from pine needles as a cold preventative. All conifer needles are high in Vitamin C—just chew on some, and you will taste the sour tang—but white pine is lowest in harsh resins.
To make tea, respectfully and gently pull needles from some of the branches. Pluck them from various parts of the tree, not all from the same spot. Take the needles home, chop them (optional), and put them in a jar, about one-quarter full. Fill the jar with boiling water and cap. After 20-40 minutes of steeping, pour off the tea. A daily cup of pine needle tea helps prevent colds. After contracting a cold or cough, you may drink the tea as a treatment to restrain infection, reduce inflammation, expel phlegm, and support the adrenal glands.
Pine’s antiseptic and drawing properties make it useful for preventing and treating infections in skin wounds. Pine needle salve can be applied to cuts, chapped lips, and dry skin, and it makes a wonderfully fragrant massage oil. The sap is used to extract splinters.
- Other Uses
The Indians used pines in myriads of ways. The inner bark served as an emergency food, the fresh boughs made good insulation for floors and coverings for shelters, the sap was used to make glue and waterproofing. The northeastern forests were predominantly pine before the arrival of the Europeans, who harvested the tall, straight trunks for ship masts, drastically changing the woods. Today, pine lumber floors and wall studs encase many of us in their silent strength.
For more information on uses of white pine, see Earth Medicine, Earth Food by Michael A. Weiner (New York: Ballantine Books), 1972.
