The Tree

The Longleaf Pine is one of the outstanding pines of the southern forests and one of the four southern yellow pines. It is a straight tree 100 to 120 feet tall with a trunk 24 to 36 inches in diameter. Limbs are comparatively sparse and open. The trunk is high and clear for nearly two-thirds the height of the tree. The bark is lightly furrowed into broad scales and is of an orange-brown color. It is conspicuous by its shiny flexible needles, 8 to 18 inches long, dark green in color, with three in a cluster, which drop off in two years. The name Longleaf is given the tree because of its very long needles. The cinnamon colored cones are 5 to 10 inches long with thick scales, forming in clusters of several cones each. The tree is subject to attack by the Southern Pine beetle and other insects and fungus diseases. The “razorback” hog is very fond of the young tender roots.

Longleaf Pine Cones, usually three in a bunch

Longleaf Pine tree bark

Common Names in Use

• Longleaf Pine (trade)
• Broan Pine (Tenn.)
• Broom Pine (lit.)
• Fat Pine (South U.S.)
• Florida Longleaf Yellow Pine (trade)
• Florida Longleaved Pine (Atlantic region)
• Florida Pine (Atlantic region)
• Florida Yellow Pine (Atlantic reg.)
• Georgia Heart Pine (general)
• Georgia Longleaved Pine (Atlantic region)
• Georgia Pine (general, Del. region)
• Georgia Pitch Pine (Atlantic region)
• Georgia Yellow Pine (Atlantic)
• Hard Pine (Ala., Miss., La.)
• Heart Pine(N.C. and So. Atlantic region)
• Longleaf Pitch Pine (Atlantic reg.)
• Longleaved Pine (Va., N.C., S.C., Ga., Ala., Fla., Miss., La., Tex.)
• Longleaved Yellow Pine (trade and Atlantic region.)
• Longstraw Pine (Atlantic region)
• North Carolina Pitch Pine (Va., N.C.)
• Pitch Pine (Atlantic region)
• Rosemary Pine (N.C.)
• Southern Hard Pine (general)
• Southern Heart Pine (general)
• Southern Pine (N.C., Ala., Miss., La., and trade)
• Southern Pitch Pine (general)
• Southern Yellow Pine (general and trade)
• Texas Longlcaved Pine (Atlantic region)
• Texas Yellow Pine (Atlantic region)
• Turpentine Pine (N.C.)
• Yellow Pine (Del., N.C., S.C., Ala., Fla., La., Tex., and trade)

Growth Range

The growth range of Longleaf Pine extends from the southeastern coastal plain of Virginia through North and South Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and eastern Texas.

The Wood

Longleaf Pine wood is very resinous, hard, stiff, straight but uneven-grained, medium-textured, strong and durable. Care must be exercised in working with tools. The heartwood is a beautiful light reddish-tan to orange-brown while the sapwood is thin and nearly white. The growth rings are plainly visible. It nails hard but holds nails and screws satisfactorily. When properly seasoned the wood stays in place very well. It is one of the few pines having a pronounced figure. Quite frequently a beautiful blister figure is found in Longleaf Pine.

Uses

This is one of the important naval stores trees in the United States, from which is derived large quantities of turpentine and rosin. A “face” is made by chipping away the bark and collecting the resinous sap; also, the chips from subsequent faces are distilled for naval stores. It is also an important lumber tree for heavy general construction, railroad car construction, ties, piles, poles, ship building, flooring, interior finish, wainscoting, sash, frames, agricultural implements, cooperage, and cheap furniture. Some quantities of it are also used for paper pulp.

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