[3] Regarding the population in the Bahamas, it has been proposed that this species emigrated into the region from Florida four or five thousand years ago, long after the end of the Ice Age, as the climate became wetter.

Based on fossil species assemblages it is believed that the environment on the Bahamas was much less forested and a dry savannah during the glacial maximum some 18,000 years ago when the sea level was some 120 metres (390 feet) lower than it is today.

[4][5] Paleoclimatic[6] and genetic data[7] have been used to propose that P. caribaea ultimately originated in Central America.

The young pines require bright sunlight to grow, and are resistant to fire once they mature.

[8][9] Lumber and pulpwood from this tree shipped to Florida is the main export of the Abaco Islands.