familyPinaceae
genusPinus

Pinus taeda

Linnaeus

Sp. Pl. 2: 1000. 1753.

Common names: Loblolly pine
IllustratedEndemic
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2.

Trees to 46m; trunk to 1.6m diam., usually straight, without adventitious shoots; crown broadly conic to rounded. Bark redbrown, forming square or irregularly rectangular, scaly plates, resin pockets absent. Branches spreading-ascending; twigs moderately slender (to ca. 1cm thick), orangish to yellowbrown, aging darker brown, rough. Buds lance-cylindric, pale redbrown, 1–1.2 (–2) cm, mostly less than 1cm broad, slightly resinous; scale margins white-fringed, apex acuminate. Leaves 2–3 per fascicle, ascending to spreading, persisting 3 years, (10–) 12–18 (–23) cm × 1–2mm, straight, slightly twisted, pliant, deep yellow-green, all surfaces with narrow stomatal lines, margins finely serrulate, apex acute to abruptly conic-subulate; sheath 1–2.5cm, base persistent. Pollen cones cylindric, 20–40mm, yellow to yellowbrown. Seed-cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds soon thereafter, not persistent, solitary or in small clusters, nearly terminal, symmetric, lanceoloid before opening, narrowly ovoid when open, 6–12cm, mostly dull yellowbrown, sessile to nearly sessile, scales without dark border on adaxial surface distally; apophyses dull, slightly thickened, variously raised (more so toward cone base), rhombic, strongly transversely keeled; umbo central, recurved, stoutly pyramidal, tapering to stout-based, sharp prickle. Seeds obdeltoid; body 5–6mm, redbrown; wing to 20mm. 2n =24.


Habitat: Mesic lowlands and swamp borders to dry uplands
Elevation: 0–700m

Distribution

V2 416-distribution-map.gif

Ala., Ark., Del., Fla., Ga., Ky., La., Md., Miss., N.J., N.C., Okla., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Va.

Discussion

Originally most races of Pinus taeda were in the lowlands. Following disturbance of the natural vegetation after settlement by Europeans, the species spread to fine-textured, fallow, upland soils, where it now occurs intermixed with P. echinata and P. virginiana. In the Southeast P. taeda is commonly used in plantation forestry, along with P. elliottii and P. echinata. Pinus taeda frequently forms hybrids with P. echinata and P. palustris (P. × sondereggeri H.H. Chapman). Commercially, it is a valuable pulpwood and timber species.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"relatively thin" is not a number.

... more about "Pinus taeda"
resinous +
acute +  and abruptly conic-subulate +
keeled +  and rhombic +
Robert Kral +
Linnaeus +
persistent +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br />) +
spreading-ascending +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
resinous +
pale redbrown +
conspicuous +
lance-cylindric +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (?) +  and 1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (?) +
Loblolly pine +
broadly conic +  and rounded +
Ala. +, Ark. +, Del. +, Fla. +, Ga. +, Ky. +, La. +, Md. +, Miss. +, N.J. +, N.C. +, Okla. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +, Tex. +  and Va. +
0–700m +
sheathed +  and sessile +
rounded +, 2-3-angled +  and terete +
Mesic lowlands and swamp borders to dry uplands +
arranged +  and fascicles +
18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br /> (23 cm230 mm <br />0.23 m <br />) +
yellow-green +
straight +
persisting +
12 cm120 mm <br />0.12 m <br /> (18 cm180 mm <br />0.18 m <br />) +
ascending;spreading +
3 (?) +  and 2 (?) +
scale-like +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
rectangular +  and square +
not winged +  and 2-winged +
yellow +  and yellowbrown +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (4 cm40 mm <br />0.04 m <br />) +
rectangular +  and square +
fibrous;woody +
arranged +  and overlapping +
persistent +
white-fringed +
flattened +
pliable +  and woody +
grouped +  and solitary +
long-persistent +
wingless +, winged +, stalked +  and sessile +
persistent +
pendent;more or less erect +
obdeltoid +
1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br /> (2.5 cm25 mm <br />0.025 m <br />) +
adventitious +
reduced;well-defined short +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
extended +
Apinus +, Strobus +  and Caryopitys +
Pinus taeda +
species +
decurrent +  and elongate +
straight +
darker brown +, orangish +  and yellowbrown +
slender +
tapering +  and stout-based +
reduced +
0 cm0 mm <br />0 m <br /> (?) +  and 2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (?) +