Eastern white pine grows on a variety of soils ranging from light, sandy to heavy textured soils. It has fair wildlife value. Gray and red squirrels, deer, mice and 16 species of songbirds have been known to eat the seed. White pine is frequently used for windbreaks and screens along fields and right-of-ways. In dense stands, trees produce tall, cylindrical stems with pyramidal shaped crowns, characterized by distinctive, plate like branching, especially noticeable as the trees become older. Its evergreen needles are in clusters of 5, soft, flexible, 2 1/2 to 5 inches long, and bluish-green in appearance. Its cones are about 4 to 8 inches long and 1 inch thick. Diseases, including white pine blister rust, red ring rot, root rot, wood decay, and certain needle fungi, can cause losses in white pine stands. Such natural elements as snow, ice, and wind may also cause damage to white pine.