Photo by John Nelson Dr. John Nelson

Each week The Columbia Star features an explanation and picture of a mystery plant given by Dr. John Nelson, the curator of the USC Herbarium. To learn more about the Herbarium, call him at 777-8196. His department also offers free plant identification. www.herbarium.org

In 1788, Thomas Walter described this week’s mystery plant in eight words after studying and then naming it. His eight words in Latin, indicate that the tree has paired needles, a short, oblong or egg– shaped cone, and a smooth trunk.

Answer to last week’s mystery plant Photo by John NelsonAvocado, Persea americana Walter was the first American author of a North American treatment of a regional group of plants, and he did this in SC. He was a resident of old Berkeley County, where he learned about the local flora of the outer coastal plain. His publication, Flora Caroliniana , was published in London,and represents the beginning point for several hundred scientific plant names still in use today.

The mystery tree is a pine. Most pine species are residents of high ground, but this one is a bit unusual, because it grows in rather wet places, often along river bottoms in sandy soil, although it also occurs on low–country river bluffs, together with beech, oaks, and hickories. Additionally, the trees are able to handle considerable shade.

Most pines demand plenty of sun throughout their life span. Foresters will say that a tree species that is at home in shade is said to be “tolerant.” This is obviously an important feature, especially for seedlings and small plants, while they are likely to have plenty of bigger, taller neighbors, hogging the available sunlight.

The mystery pine, once mature, can be quite large, up to 100 feet tall. Its bark is rather thin, and the trees are thus sensitive to fire. The lower trunk may be lightly checkered, while the uppermost part of the trunk is smooth, something like a white pine. Sure enough, as Walter said, the needles are paired in twos, and the tiny cones are short and somewhat egg–shaped. These cones have smooth scales so they aren’t prickly, as in some other pines. Its wood tends to be brittle and is, therefore, not very highly prized for lumber.

This mystery pine may be found from SC, south of the Santee River drainage, through northern Florida, the southern parts of Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and into eastern Louisiana. In SC, it would be along the Edisto River around Givhans Ferry State Park.

Walter’s description? “Foliis geminatis, strobilo oblongo–ovato brevi, cortice glabro.”