Green in Winter: Jack Pine

In Indiana this scrubby native tree, Pinus banksiana, is frequent on the foredunes near Lake Michigan. Away from the lake most populations are likely to be escapes from cultivation. Further north, however, Jack Pine forms extensive native stands, providing habitat for the rare Kirtland's or "Jack Pine" Warbler.

The tree is often misshapen, or at least not perfectly cone-shaped, though on the foredunes it sometimes takes on a beautifully symmetrical form when it grows in dense stands. Photographed at the Indiana Dunes State Park in Porter County on January 26, 2013.