Pinus taeda

COMMON NAME: Loblolly pine, Old-field pine

FAMILY: Pine Family; Pinaceae

GROWTH HABIT: A tall tree (to 30 m tall) with a long, clear trunk and dense, rounded crown. Short, much-branched horizontal limbs.

FOLIAGE: Evergreen, Needles slender, 12-23 cm long, stiff, and twisted; Long, in bundles of threes (rarely twos); Needles fall during their third or fourth year; the basal sheaths are persistent.

BUDS: Brown and not resinous.

BARK: Scaly and dark on young trees; cinnamon-colored and broken into thick scales on mature trees.

FRUIT: Cones. Conic when closed, egg-shaped when open, 7-15 cm long. Scales armed with stout, sharp spines. Cones remain on tree about one year after shedding seeds.

NATURAL HISTORY: Usually on moist, sandy soils, but often invades abandoned fields; a pioneer species.

NATIVE HABITAT: Southern New Jersey to Florida; west to eastern Texas