Longleaf Pine

The Longleaf Pine, Pinus palustris, is one of the two southern pines with long needles (the other being Slash Pine). These remarkably long needles, bundled in threes, are about 25-40 cm in length and are sometimes twisted. These trees reach a height of about 30 meters and a diameter of 0.7 meters. The cones are 15 to 25 cm in length and have a small but sharp spine on the middle of each scale. New seedlings do not appear at all tree-like and resemble a green fountain of needles. This form is called the grass stage. During this stage, growth is very slow, and the tree may take a number of years simply to grow ankle-high. Then it makes a growth spurt, especially if the canopy is open above it. In the grass stage, it is very resistant to grass fires, which burn off the ends of the needles, but the fire cannot penetrate the tightly packed needle bases to reach the bud.

The yellow, resinous wood is used for lumber and pulp. Boards cut years ago from virgin timber are very wide (up to 1m) and a thriving salvage business obtains these boards from demolition projects, to be reused as flooring in upscale homes.

This tree is also known as Southern Yellow Pine or Longleaf Yellow Pine, and in the past as Pitch Pine (dropped as it caused confusion with Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida). It grows on well-drained soil, usually sandy, sometimes in pure stands. The Longleaf Pine ranges along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia.

Longleaf Pine is highly resistant to fire. Periodic burning selects for this species, by killing other trees, leading to Longleaf Pine forests or more open savannas. The latter especially tend to be rich in biodiversity. Longleaf Pines seeds are large and nutritious forming a significant food source for birds (notably the Brown-headed Nuthatch) and other wildlife.

Vast forests of Longleaf Pine once were present along the southeastern Atlantic coast and Gulf Coast of North America. These forests were the source of naval stores - resin, turpentine, and timber - needed by merchants and the navy for their ships. They have been cutover since for timber and usually replaced with faster growing Loblolly Pine and Slash Pine, for agriculture, and for urban/suburban development. Only about 3 per cent of the original forest remains, and little new is planted. The Red-cockaded Woodpecker is dependent on Longleaf Pine forests, and is now endangered as a result of this decline.

The Longleaf Pine is the official state tree of North Carolina and Alabama.

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