Is the pine tree native to North America?

One of my daughter's friends told me this out of the blue yesterday, and I've been wondering. (The entire province of BC is devastated by the Pine Beetle.) My second question: who the f*ck planted pine and why is it better than cedar, fir and spruce? (the native species)

Is the pine tree native to North America?
An number of pines are native to North America, but there are also a number that are introduced.





Anytime a species is introduced, there's a potential for it to bring "hitchhikers" that may potentailly have devastating effects. Look what happened when the Chinese chestnut was introduced (along with chestnut blight), elms that brough Dutch elm disease, and the guy that thought he could produce silk from gypsy moths (and a few got away from him). And some firs and spruces are commonly introduced trees for landscaping, so it's not just pines.





That's not to say all introduced species are "bad". In my area, pheasants, and brown and rainbow trout are popular game animals, even though they aren't native.
Reply:Dozens of pine vaieties are native to North America.
Reply:No because they came from mars. That's right, they are really Marstans in digest as trees to take over the world.