Pinus taeda

loblolly pine, old field pine, bull pine, rosemary pine
Family

Pinaceae

Leaf Arrangement

fascicled

Leaf Type

needle

Leaf Shape

linear

Growth Form

tree

Flower Color

brown, green

Flower Month

January - March

Height (meters)

32.0 - 36.0

Milky Sap

No

Armed/Unarmed

Unarmed

Origin

native

Lifespan

perennial

Growing Season

Warm season

Leaf Retention

Evergreen


Wetland Class

FAC

Wetland Coefficient of Conservatism

6

Prairie Coefficient of Conservatism

2

Animal Use

Seeds eaten by wild turkeys, squirrels, and some song birds.

Natural History

Found in sand, sandy loams or gravelly soils in pine flatwoods, pine-hardwood mixed forest, and savannahs in Louisiana and eastern Texas. Ranges along the Coastal Plain and Piedmont from southern New Jersey to central Florida and west to Texas. The French word for pine is "pin" and a pine forest is called "pinie`re" (Holmes 1990).

Habitat

Low woods and old fields, moist sandy soil, gravelly soils in flatwoods, on ridges, hills, and savannas.

Plant Uses

The woods of southern pines share many common properties. They are classed as moderately heavy, moderately hard, moderately strong, stiff, and moderately shock resistant. Heartwood is moderately resistant to decay. All southern pines have moderately large shrinkage when drying but stay in place well after they are seasoned. In nail-withdrawal resistance, they rank above hemlock, spruce, and Douglas-fir. Used mainly for building materials such as framing, sash, sheathing, subflooring, joists, and interior finish. As a result of techniques developed in recent years, much southern pine is cut into veneers for use in construction plywood. It is also used for boxes, crates, caskets, interior parts of furniture, woodenware, and novelties. Considerable amounts go into poles, pilings, cross ties, and mine timbers. Much southern pine is cut for pulpwood. Southern pines are used for obtaining wood turpentine, tar, and tar oils through the distillation process.