THESE CACHES ARE NAMED AFTER THE 10 MOST COMMON NATIVE TREES OF CONNECTICUT.
A series of caches connecting Voluntown to Plainfield. Enjoy a short hike on the well maintained Blue Blaze Hiking Trail System.
While in the area there is also a series of caches in the Plainfield Forest management area.
The
eastern white pine,
northern white pine,
white pine,
Weymouth pine (British), and
soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America.
It prefers well-drained soil and cool, humid climates, but can also grow in boggy areas and rocky highlands. In mixed forests, this dominant tree towers over all others, including the large broadleaf hardwoods. It provides food and shelter for numerous forest birds, such as the red crossbill and small mammals such as squirrels.
Eastern White Pine forests originally covered much of northeastern North America. Only one percent of the old-growth forests remain after the eMature trees are often 200–250 years old, and some live to over 400 years. A tree growing near Syracuse, New York was dated to 458 years old in the late 1980s and trees in Michigan and Wisconsin were dated to approximately 500 years old.xtensive logging operations of the 18th century to early 20th century.
Foods and medicines
Eastern white pine needles contain five times the amount of Vitamin C (by weight) of lemons and make an excellent herbal tea. The cambium is edible. It is also a source of resveratrol. Linnaeus noted in the 18th century that cattle and pigs fed pine bark bread grew well, but he personally did not like the taste. Caterpillars of Lusk's Pinemoth have been found to feed only on Pinus strobus.
Pine tar is produced by slowly burning pine roots, branches, or small trunks in a partially smothered flame. Pine tar mixed with beer can be used to remove tapeworms (flat worms) or nematodes (round worms). Pine tar mixed with sulfur is useful to treat dandruff, and marketed in present-day products. Pine tar can also be processed to make turpentine.