Types of Pine Trees at Maurice River Bluffs Preserve

[teleflux]

Does anyone know what type of pine tree is in the parking lot of the Maurice River Bluffs Preserve?

It's a really nice grove which looks like it was planted. They don't look like pitch pines to me, the trunks are too straight. Could it be Loblolly? Something else?

Pretty OK photo attached.

 

[bobpbx]

I'm reluctant to ID a pine from afar. You can narrow it down by counting how many needles in each fascicle, and the length of them. The cone in hand is the other piece of the puzzle. I agree though, not pitch pine.

 

[c1nj]

Possibly Pitch-Lob hybrid.

 

[teleflux]

Some better photos attached.

3 needles per fascicle. I'm thinking Loblolly or a hybrid (Pitlolly?). I was reading somewhere that the hybrids are used for ornamental trees.

 

[c1nj]

Definitely looks like Pitch-lob to me.
Take a ride to the end of Weatherby Road just past the lake near Rt. 49. The pine plantation next to the old packing house looks exactly the same and I know for certain that it is a planted pitch pine/Loblolly hybrid stand.

 

[teleflux]

Thanks for the tip! Drove over there, and it looks pretty much exactly like the other grove of trees.

Do you know why these were planted? Was this a cranberry bog?

 

[c1nj]

Yes, that's April's cranberry farm. The old building next door made and packed cranberry sauce. Towards the end of the farm, cranberries from Wisconsin were also utilized. The southern pinelands at one point was a major cranberry producer.

The farm is for sale if you want to purchase it! 200 acres!

The trees were planted as a forestry project for future harvesting. Large landowners typically put their properties in New Jersey's Forest Stewardship program for it's tax benefits. The plantation is burned every few years.

 

[teleflux]

Interesting stuff. I bet the trees at the bluffs were planted around the same time. They look to be about the same size and same configuration.