Loblolly Pine

Scientific Name: (Pinus taeda)

By: Jordan Moore


Common Names: Loblolly Pine

Description: "Leaves or needles 6 to 9 inches long, slightly twisted, pale blue-green and occuring in clusters of 3 to the sheath. Fruit or cone 2 to 6 inches long, light reddish brown at maturity; scales armed with short, stout prickles. Bark on young trees dark in color and deeply furrowed, becoming on old trees bright red-brown and divided into broad, flat ridges. A tree 100 feet in height with a trunk 2 to 5 feet in diameter. Perhaps the fastest growing southern pine."

Distribution: Found throughout the state of Georgia. Also found in the higher mountains.You would not likely run across a pine in th coastal plains. "Most common of the Southern yellow pines and often in plantations."

Bibliography: Bishop, Norman G., Peabody, Foster George, Georgia Forestry Commission. Native Trees of Georgia. Ninth Printing. January, 1996