Tree Description:
A large tree to 125 feet tall and a trunk to 4 feet in diameter, with thick, heavy branches and an open, rounded crown of glossy foliage. Longleaf pine is the most fire-tolerant of all the southern yellow pines.
Range/Site Description:
East Texas from Orange county north to Sabine county and west to Trinity county. It reaches its greatest size on dry, sandy hills, but also occurs as a component of the southeast Texas flatwoods plant communities.
Leaf:
Long, glossy needles in bundles of 3, from 10" to 18" long, dark green, and bunched towards the ends of thick, scaly, twigs.
Flower:
The reproductive conelets appear in early spring before the new needles, the male as red-purple clusters 2" long, and the female in inconspicuous groups of 2 to 4 at the branch tips.
Fruit:
A woody cone, 6" to 12" long and slightly curved, the thick scales armed with small, curved prickles. The cones usually fall soon after the seed ripens, leaving their bases attached to the twigs.
Bark:
Developing large, red-brown plates and deep fissures on older trunks.
Wood:
Heartwood is yellow to orange, with lighter sapwood, and is heavy, hard, strong, tough and durable. Its uses include flooring, fencing, piling, paper pulp, bridges, ties, heavy construction timbers, fuel, and charcoal. Naval stores for shipbuilding, such as turpentine and rosin, are obtained from the sap of the tree.
Similar Species:
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum) is found in the mountains of West Texas; a hybrid cross between longleaf and loblolly pines -- known as "Sonderegger pine" -- is often found within its native range, with intermediate characteristics between the two species.
Interesting Facts:
As an adaptation to frequent fires, the seedlings go through a distinctive "grass stage," with the candle-like, silvery bud protected by a dense clump of needles at the ground line. Old-growth stands are important to the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker.
