Loblolly Pine

TREES

GENUS/SPECIES

Pinus taeda

FAMILY

Pinaceae

SYNONYMS

Common: Old Field Pine, Southern Yellow Pine

DISTRIBUTION

Southeastern US

Central Florida westward to eastern Texas
Eastern Texas through Gulf Coast states, Georgia and South Carolina to central North Carolina
Central North Carolina northward along Atlantic Coastal Plain to southern Delaware
Absent from Lower Mississippi Valley

Human Product Number - 132

Veterinary Product Number - 132

Comments

Loblolly pine is cultivated well outside its natural range for its wood and as an ornamental, thus obscuring its natural distribution. It is the most common pine in much of its range, and grows in a variety of habitats, often “pioneering” in old fields. It avoids very wet areas as well as extremely dry soils. This species has thin, yellow-green needles in bundles of 3 and are usually about 12 to 18 cm long. The tiny male (pollen) cones are orange-yellow and appear in clusters in the spring, and they release large quantities of wind-blown pollen. The female (seed) cones mature at about 10 to 15 cm long.