Missouri Plants Shortleaf pine   (Pinus echinata) Tracheophyte: Gymnosperm: Pine (Pinaceae) Native North American plant Habitat: dry and wet soil sites in full sun. ID Features: 2 needles per bud, bark separated in large pieces. Natural History: Shortleaf pine is the only pine native to Missouri. It is a "yellow" pine, which refers the yellowish and harder wood they produce than than the softer white pine. Yellow pine is commonly used for support lumber in houses and decks. Yellow pines also include long-leafed pine and loblolly pine, both of which grow in the south. Pines are gymnosperms and do not make flowers. They produce brown cones that make their seeds. Shortleaf pines grow in many places in the Ozarks, often in acidic and poor soils.

The information is from: Trees of Missouri by Carl Settergren and Re. E. McDermott, University of Missouri-Columbia Agricultural Experiment Station, ©1979.