| Botanical Name: |
Pinus palustris |
| Other Names: |
Longleaf yellow pine, southern yellow pine |
| Description: |
Generally 80 to 100 feet tall with a 24-inch diameter.
Large tree with the longest needles and largest cones of any eastern pine
with a open, irregular crown of few spreading branches; 1 row added each
year. |
| Habitat: |
Well-drained sandy soils of flatlands and sandhills; often
in pure stands. |
| Range: |
Found in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from
southeastern Virginia to central Florida and west to eastern Texas, and in
the Piedmont region and Valley and Ridge province of Georgia and Alabama. |
| Usages: |
Timber |
The wood is clear, straight with few defects and used
for timber and ship building.
|
| Wildlife |
Birds and small mammals eat the large seeds.
This species provides excellent habitat for bobwhite quail, white-tailed
deer, wild turkey, and squirrel. Old growth stands provide nesting
habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker. |
| Erosion Control |
Is highly recommended species for
reforestation of dry, infertile, deep sand in the southern U.S. |
| General Comments: |
Longleaf is used, along with slash pine, for commercial
production of naval stores. Resin is used in the naval stores industry
for gum turpentine and rosin production. |
| Some
or all of the above information was taken from National Audubon Society Field
Guide to North America Trees, Eastern Region and/or NRCS Plant Fact Sheet
or Plant Guides. |
