Jack pine is a scrappy, northern tree with short needles in bundles of two, and distinctive, incurved cones that can remain "closed" for up to 25 years. The tree was much maligned through most of white "settlement," often viewed as the cause of all kinds of trouble: infertility (presumably because of proximity to the long-closed cones), poisoned livestock, and so on. According to Peattie (1948) "[a]lmost any misfortune that befell a man's ox or his ass or his wife could be blamed on the nearest Jack Pine, and the only thing to do was to get rid of it." Ironically this was usually accomplished by burning the trees—but jack pine is dependent on fire for reproductive success, and its cones do not open without at least 112 degrees F of heat, releasing seeds into mineral-rich, post-fire ash deposits.

Kirtland's warbler, a gorgeous songbird with a gray back and a bright yellow breast, nests and breeds only in the jack pine forests in the Great Lakes states and provinces.

Frequent mushroom associates for jack pine include Aureoboletus projectellus, Gymnopus androsaceus, Suillus brevipes, Suillus salmonicolor, Suillus tomentosus, Tricholoma magnivelare, and many others.

Jack pine cones remain "closed" for many years

needles can appear almost whorled, reminiscent of tamarack . . .

. . . but on close inspection are in discrete bundles of two

jack pine bark is scaly, even in young trees . . .

. . . throughout development . . .

. . . becoming very scaly with maturity

jack pine trees are scrappy, with spreading crowns

a jack pine stand in Emmet County, Michigan

cones usually curve inward, toward branches

maturing cone

pollen cones

on the shores of Lake Superior

Kuo, Michael & Melissa Kuo (October, 2026). Pinus banksiana (jack pine). Retrieved from the MushroomExpert.Com website: www.mushroomexpert.com/trees/pinus_banksiana.html

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