Sand Pine Tree Information


Images of Sand Pine:



Sand Pine grows in the following 2 states and provinces:

Alabama, Florida


Information about Sand Pine:


More information about Sand Pine may be found here.

The Pinus Clausa is commonly known as the Sand Pine, Scrub Pine as well as Spruce Pine.

The currently accepted scientific name of sand pine is Pinus clausa (Chapm. ex Engelm.) Vasey ex Sarg. . The species is divided into two geographic varieties which differ in cone serotiny : Pinus clausa var. clausa = Ocala sand pine (serotinous cones) Pinus clausa var. immuginata = Choctawhatchee sand pine (nonserotinous cones) Aside from serotiny, no consistent morphological differences have been found between the two varieties. Myers suggests that there is no compelling reason to distinguish them. Both varieties will be discussed in this report, with emphasis on Pinus clausa var. clausa.

The Ocala variety grows in the Florida Peninsula, and the Choctawhatchee variety grows in the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama. On the peninsula, sand pine occurs from Tampa to Naples on the Gulf Coast and from St. Augustine to Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic Coast. A few stands also occur on off-shore islands. The largest stand of sand pine is in the Big Shrub Complex of the Ocala National Forest in north-central Florida .

Sand pine is dominant in the Florida Scrub community type. A published classification listing sand pine as dominant in community types (cts) is presented below: Area Classification Authority FL gen. forest cts Waggoner 1975

Some of the information provided here is attributed to:Carey, Jennifer H. 1992. Pinus clausa. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). , available at the USDA Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) website