The Pitch Pine (P. rigida) is a very distinct sort, common in the whole of the United States east of the Alleghanies. It is very stiff and formal in its growth when young, but as it approaches maturity, it becomes one of the most picturesque trees of the genus. The branches, which shoot out horizontally, bend downwards at the extremities, and the top of the tree, when old, takes a flattened shape. The whole air and expression of the tree is wild and romantic, and is harmonious with portions of scenery where these characters predominate. The leaves are collected in threes, and the color of the foliage is a dark green. The cones are pyramidal, from one to three inches long, and armed with short spines.
The bark of this kind of Pine is remarkably rough, black, and furrowed, even upon young trees; and the wood is filled with resinous sap, from which pitch and tar are copiously supplied. The trees grow in various parts of the country, both on the most meagre soils and in moist swamps, with almost equal facility. In the latter situations they are, however, comparatively destitute of resin, but the stems often rise to 80 feet in elevation.
