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 LONGLEAF PINE (Pinus palustris Mill.) 



THE young longleaf pine forms one of the most 

 striking features of the southern forest. When 

 5 to 10 years of age, the single upright stem with 

 its long, dark, shiny leaves, forms a handsome plume 

 of sparkling green, while in later youth the stalwart, 

 sparingly branched sapling, with its heavy twigs 

 and gray bark, attracts immediate attention. The 



From Sargent's "Manual of the Trees of North America," 

 by permission of Houghton-MlfSln Company. 



older trees have tall, straight trunks, 1 to 3 feet in 

 diameter and open, irregular crowns, one-third to 

 one-half the length of the tree. 



Longleaf pine is confined to the Coastal Plain 

 region. It has been extensively logged, bled for tur- 

 pentine, repeatedly burned and ranged over by native 

 "razor-back" hogs until in many sections it has been 

 almost exterminated or replaced by other pines. 



The leaves are from 10 to 15 inches long, in clus- 

 ters of 3, and gathered toward the ends of the thick, 

 scaly twigs. The flowers, appearing in early spring 

 before the new leaves, are a deep rose-purple, the 

 male in prominent, short, dense clusters and the 

 female in inconspicuous groups of 2 to 4. 



The cones, or burrs, are 6 to 10 inches long, 

 slightly curved, the thick scales armed with small 

 curved prickles. The cones usually fall soon after 

 the seeds ripen, leaving their bases attached to the 

 twigs. 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong, tough and dura- 

 ble. As Georgia pine, pitch pine and southern pine, 

 it has been, and still is, used for all kinds of build- 

 ing and other construction. Naval stores, consist- 

 ing of tar, pitch, rosin and turpentine, are obtained 

 almost exclusively from this tree and its close rela- 

 tive, the slash pine, by bleeding the trees for their 

 raw gum. 



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