SHORTLEAF PINE 



515 



leaf sapling had a tap root reaching to a 

 depth of 14 feet. Only a very few conifer- 

 ous trees have the power to send up vigorous 

 shoots from their stumps when the trees 

 have been felled or the tops have been killed 

 by fire, but shortleaf pine possesses this 

 valuable means of reproducing itself during 

 the early years of its life. 



A cross-section of a log of shortleaf pine 

 shows a broad band of nearly white sap- 

 wood surrounding the pale, reddish brown 

 or orange-colored heartwood. The wood is 

 straight-grained and varies considerably in 

 resin content and hardness, but is stiff, 

 strong and moderately heavy. The well- 

 defined rings of annual growth consist 

 of a band of light-colored soft wood 

 surrounded by a darker band of denser, 

 harder and more resinous wood. These 

 bands in the annual ring are known re- 

 spectively as the spring wood and the 

 summer wood. 



Forests composed entirely of shortleaf 

 pine are found, but stands of pure growth 

 usually are of small extent, surrounded by 

 areas of shortleaf mixed with other pines or 

 hardwoods. Pitch pine and scrub pine share 



a considerable 



RANGE OF SHORTLEAF PINE 



The heavily shaded portion of the map shows the commercial range of this famous and much-used 

 wood, while the lightly shaded portion indicates the botanical range. 



i 



tikatl 



I 



mi 



BARK OF SHORTLEAF PINE 



por- 

 tion of its territory 

 in the north, and 

 loblolly pine grows 

 practically through- 

 out the range of 

 shortleaf on the 

 heavier and more 

 moist soils. Long- 

 leaf pine and three 

 other southern pines 

 grow with it in the 

 South, and in the 

 Appalachian Moun- 

 tains it meets white 

 pine and table moun- 

 tain pine. Many 

 kinds of oaks and 

 hickories are fre- 

 quent companions 

 of the shortleaf pine, 

 together with less 

 important broad-leaf 

 trees such as per- 

 simmon, sassafras 

 and dogwood. 



Shortleaf pine 

 grows well on many 

 kinds of soils, rang- 

 ing from sand and 

 gravel to stiff clays. 

 Unlike loblolly pine, 



which prefers low-lying land, it always selects the better 

 drained sites. The vigor of the tree is shown by the 

 wide variations in temperature it can endure; it with- 

 stands temperatures of 22 F. below zero in New York 

 and New Jersey, and grows equally well in Louisiana, 

 where the thermometer may register 112F. 



Shortleaf grows more rapidly than longleaf pine and 

 more slowly than loblolly pine. Studies made by the 

 Forest Service in stands of fully stocked second-growth 

 shortleaf pine in North Carolina indicate that this tree in 

 80 years under the best conditions will yield in excess of 

 40,000 board feet (Scribner rule) per acre. On medium 

 soils the growth in the same period will approximate 

 33,000 feet, board measure, per acre, and on poor soil in 

 80 years the yield is only about 24,000 feet. In stands 20 

 years old the lumber production was found to vary from 

 5700 board feet per acre on good soils to 700 board feet 

 on poor soils. 



Shortleaf pine in the forest may live to be 400 years 

 of age, but its average life is not more than 200 to 

 300 years. To produce a mature stand of saw timber 

 from shortleaf pine requires 80 to 100 years, depending on 

 the quality of the soil. For tie production or cordwood 

 the maximum growth occurs between the ages of 60 and 

 80 years. With proper thinning the rate of growth is 

 considerably hastened. 



The first thinning in well-stocked shortleaf pine forests 

 should be made when the trees are 20 or 30 years old. 

 Under average conditions, about one-third of the trees 

 should be cut out in this early thinning; older stands 

 should be treated less severely. Small, weak trees, strug- 

 gling hopelessly below the tops of the majority of trees, 



