Direct answer: Pine tar is a dark, smoky wood tar made by heating pine wood, roots, or stumps with little or no oxygen. It is best known as a traditional preservative for wood, rope, boat gear, and outdoor timber.
Pine tar belongs to the wider family of wood tars. Older tar burners often valued resin-rich pine roots and stumps because they could yield a thick, useful liquid during slow heating. The process is a form of destructive distillation: the wood breaks down under heat instead of simply burning away in open air.
Historically, pine tar mattered because it protected useful materials that lived outside. Mariners used it on rigging and wooden fittings, farmers used it around fencing and tools, and craft workers still use it when they want a dark, traditional, water-shedding finish. In a modern context, it also appears in specialist equestrian, sporting, cosmetic, and heritage products, though each use has its own rules and safety expectations.
Pine tar is not one perfectly uniform substance. Its colour, smell, thickness, and drying behaviour vary with the species of pine, the part of the tree, the kiln or retort method, and later refining. A pale, carefully made Scandinavian pine tar can feel very different from a heavy, smoky, crude tar.
In short: Made from pine wood or resin-rich pine roots and stumps. Usually produced by slow heating in low-oxygen conditions. Traditionally associated with wood preservation, rope, and maritime use. Varies greatly by tree species, production method, and refining.