In Episode 122 of the Kershner Files, I discussed a Facebook reel that I’d found which presents a number of uses for pine trees. Below is an extract of the text of that reel as presented by Southern Herbalist Jeremy VanMaanen. All of the following is credited to him and all rights remain with him. If you’d like to view the original Facebook reel and/or begin following Jeremy, here’s the link to the original post: Jeremy VanMaanen Southern Herbalist
Most people walk past pine trees every day without realizing they’re looking at one of the most historically useful medicinal plants in North America. Long before pharmacies, supplements, and imported remedies, pine trees were part of the everyday medicine cabinet for people living across the South. Several species grow throughout the region, including Pinus taeda, Pinus palustris, and Pinus echinata. Southern herbalists, frontier families, and Indigenous communities all found ways to use different parts of these trees — needles, resin, bark, and pollen — each offering something useful.
One of the most well-known traditional uses was for the lungs. Pine needle teas and steams were used when someone was dealing with congestion, coughs, or a heavy chest. The volatile oils in pine give that unmistakable forest smell, and those aromatic compounds help loosen mucus and open the airways. Even today many over-the-counter chest rubs and inhalants rely on pine-derived compounds like pinene for their respiratory effects. When you smell that fresh pine scent, you’re smelling the same compounds people historically relied on to help clear the lungs.
Another important traditional use involved pine resin, sometimes called pine pitch. Resin naturally seals wounds on a tree, and people noticed it could help protect cuts and scrapes as well. Pine pitch was commonly melted and mixed with animal fat or beeswax to create salves used on wounds, splinters, and skin infections. The sticky resin forms a protective barrier while also containing antimicrobial compounds. Modern research has confirmed that several pine terpenes — especially alpha-pinene and beta-pinene — show antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activity, helping explain why these traditional remedies often worked.
Pine also served as a nutritional ally during difficult seasons. Pine needle tea contains vitamin C and antioxidants, which made it valuable during winter months when fresh greens were scarce. In various parts of North America, people relied on pine needle infusions to help prevent deficiency illnesses when other foods were limited. It was a simple, accessible way to get nutrients from a plant that grows nearly everywhere.
Then there is pine pollen, which has become increasingly interesting to modern herbalists. Pine pollen is the fine yellow dust released from male cones each spring. Traditionally it was collected as a nutritive tonic, and modern laboratory analysis has found that pine pollen contains small amounts of naturally occurring androgens — compounds chemically related to testosterone. While the quantities are small and the body’s absorption is still debated, pine pollen also contains amino acids, minerals, and antioxidants that contribute to its reputation as a vitality-supporting plant.
Taken together, the pine tree is a remarkable example of how a single plant can provide multiple forms of support. Needles for respiratory preparations, resin for topical applications, pollen for nutrition, and even the inner bark historically used as emergency food. It’s not an exotic plant found halfway around the world. It’s one of the most common trees across the American landscape, especially here in the South.
For many people interested in traditional herbal knowledge, pine is a reminder that useful plants aren’t always rare or hard to find. Sometimes they’re the trees lining the road, the woods behind the house, or the forest you walk through every day. When you start learning the plants around you, you realize that nature has been quietly providing resources for generations — long before modern medicine cabinets existed.
