Table Mountain Pine

Table Mountain pine occurs naturally in the eastern U.S., mainly in the Appalachian region on dry gravelly ridges. It is rare in cultivation, and where and why this specimen is here is unknown. The epithet "pungens" means piercing, sharp pointed, referring to the peculiar, stout hooked cone spines. Arthur Lee Jacobson in North American Landscape Trees, describes Table Mountain pine as, "a crab of a pine, of irregular crown and picturesque habit."

Nominated by: John Schwandt & Karen Haskew