Maine’s State Tree

The white pine was adopted as Maine’s state tree in 1945. It had already been recognized half a century earlier when the “pine cone and tassel” was designated Maine’s state flower in 1895. But the white pine’s roots are much deeper than that.

The King’s Pine

New England’s white pines became famous before the United States even existed. Europe’s forests had long been exploited for lumber, which was used to build ships as well as homes. Tall, straight trees were especially in demand for use as masts. (A mast is a pole which supports sails.)

When Columbus discovered America in 1492, Spain was one of the most powerful nations. But England’s navy was also becoming larger. The ship-building trade greatly depleted England’s limited forests.

No better source of “mast trees” could be found than “New England.” Here, white pines towered more than one hundred feet above the rocky ground littered with pine needles.

In 1605, Captain George Weymouth of the British Royal Navy collected white pine from Maine and sent the samples back to England. In 1691, England established a “Broad Arrow Policy.” Trees that were twenty-four inches or more in diameter and grew within three miles of water belonged to the Royal Navy. Such trees were blazed with the “mark of the broad arrow.” This is how the term “King’s Pine” originated.

The Pine Tree State

Thus, it isn’t surprising that a white pine was depicted on Maine’s state seal even before it adopted a state tree or flower. After all, Maine was nicknamed the Pine Tree State.

A pine tree flag even represented New England, to which Maine belongs, during the Revolutionary War. But for the whims of history, it might now be our national flag!

Most of Maine’s mast trees were cut by 1850. Lumber production peaked in 1909, not long after Maine adopted its state flower. But the white pine remains the state’s dominant tree.

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