High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Pine Barrens, also known as the Pinelands, is a heavily forested area of coastal plain stretching across southern New Jersey. The name "pine barrens" refers to the area`s sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil, to which the crops originally imported by European settlers didn`t take well. These uncommon conditions enable the Pine Barrens to support a unique and diverse spectrum of plant life, including orchids and carnivorous plants. The area is also notable for its populations of rare pygmy Pitch Pines and other plant species that depend on the frequent fires of the Pine Barrens to reproduce. The sand that composes much of the area`s soil is referred to by the locals as sugar sand.