42 
BULLETIN" 1061, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
to reforest. This will afford a light grass cover which is probably 
more favorable to successful germination than entirely bare soil, such 
Fig. 4. — Early development of longleaf pine. 
a. Seedling in October or November from two to four weeks after the fall of the seed. 
6. Appearance a few days later, when the empty seed coat has been shed. 
c. By January to March the true leaves (in sheaths with 1, 2, or 3 leaves) are ex- 
panding as shown. 
d. During the first season after germination the plant develops a very short stem, 
above the taproot, supporting clusters of long true leaves. The early seed leaves, or 
cotyledons, it will be noted, have been shed. 
e. A dense tuft of long, slender, drooping leaves, the whole gradually expanding and 
massed on a short, stout stem, gives longleaf pine its characteristic appearance during 
the first three to five years. It is this mass of green foliage and the so-called " asbestos " 
bud that enables longleaf to persist through repeated fires. Below is developed the very 
heavy,, long taproot and strong laterals, wbich in other pines usually accompany saplings 
2 to 6 feet in height. (From Forest Service Bulletin 13.) 
as the seed would fall upon directly after the burning. Where fires 
have been of yearly occurrence and in regions of thin grass or other 
