Morphology

Pinus pungens is a native, slow-growing conifer. It is often small in stature and exceedingly limby.^[5]It rarely grows beyond 66 feet (20 m) tall, though the tallest individual recorded was 95 feet (29 m).^[6]Pinus pungens is typically around 16 inches (40 cm) DBH. The maximum recorded DBH was 34 inches (94 cm).^[6]The trunks of Pinus pungens are often crooked and have irregularly shaped cross-sections. Older trees tend to be flat-topped, while young trees can vary in form from that of a large bush when open-grown, to slender with relatively small limbs when grown in a dense stand.^[7] Table Mountain pine typically has long, thick limbs on much of the trunk even in closed canopy stands.^[7]

Male cones are 1.5 cm long. Female cones are sessile, range from 4.2-10 cm long.^[7]Cone scales are tough and armed with broad, upwardly curving spines.^[6]

Distribution

Pinus pungens distribution is centered in the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States, primarily in the Blue Ridge and Valley-and-Ridge provinces of the Appalachian Highlands. Its range extends from central Pennsylvania, southwest to eastern West Virginia and southward into North Carolina, Tennessee, and the extreme northeast corner of Georgia.^[8] There are outlying populations of Pinus pungens to the east of the Appalachians in the piedmont often on isolated peaks and monadnocks^[9]

Habitat

Pinus pungens prefers dry conditions and is mostly found on rocky slopes and peaks, favoring higher elevations averaging of ~300-1700 meters.^[6]

Fire Adaptations

Pinus pungens has adaptations to fire that are consistent with both long- and short-return-interval fire regimes.^[6][11] Medium-thick to thick bark, a large rooting habit, self sufficient self-pruning limbs, and pitch/sap production to seal wounds are characteristics of Pinus pungens that suggest it is adapted to survive frequent, low-severity fire up to medium intensity fire.^[6][11] One major adaptation of Pinus pungens to fire are the long dormant serotinous cones that open and spread seeds after high heat exposure.^[7][11][6]

Fire Regime

Pinus pungens was historically subject to a full range of fire frequencies and types: frequent low-severity surface fires, mixed-severity fires, and stand-replacement fires.^[6][12] Fire occurs infrequently on contemporary Appalachian landscapes where Pinus pungens is common.^[13]

Current age structure of Pinus pungens suggest fire is an important influence on stand structure and regeneration as it regulates and clears the land periodically.^{[14] [6]} This can be seen in areas of the Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia where large Table Mountain pines have not regenerated due to lack of needed conditions to rejuvenate both the soil and trees.^[6][15] Large gaps in year tree classes are the result of fire suppression.^[6][16]