Loblolly pine

Appearance

Loblolly pine can reach a height of 30–35 m with a diameter of 0.4–1.5 m . Exceptional specimens may reach 50 m tall, the largest of the southern pines. Its needles are in bundles of three, sometimes twisted, and measure 12–22 cm long; an intermediate length for southern pines, shorter than those of the longleaf pine or slash pine, but longer than those of the shortleaf pine and spruce pine. The needles usually last up to two years before they fall, which gives the species its evergreen character. Although some needles fall throughout the year due to severe weather, insect damage, and drought, most needles fall during the autumn and winter of their second year. The seed cones are green, ripening pale buff-brown, 7–13 cm in length, 2–3 cm broad when closed, opening to 4–6 cm wide, each scale bearing a sharp 3–6 mm spine.

The tallest loblolly pine currently known, which is 51.4 m tall, and the largest, which measures 42 cubic meters in volume, are in Congaree National Park.

Naming

The word ''loblolly'' is a combination of ''lob'', referring to thick heavy bubbling of cooking porridge, and ''lolly'', an old British dialect word for broth, soup, or any other food boiled in a pot. In the southern United States, the word is used to mean "a mudhole; a mire," a sense derived from an allusion to the consistency of porridge. Hence the pine is named as it is generally found in lowlands and swampy areas. Loblolly pines grow well in acidic clay soil, which is common throughout the South, and are thus often found in large stands in rural places. Other old names, now rarely used, include oldfield pine, due to its status as an early colonizer of abandoned fields; bull pine, due to its size ; rosemary pine, due to loblolly's distinctive fragrance compared to the other southern pines; and North Carolina pine.

For the scientific name, ''Pinus'' is the Latin name for the pines and ''taeda'' refers to the resinous wood.

Habitat

With the advent of wildfire suppression, loblolly pine has come to prevalence in some parts of the deep south that were once dominated by longleaf pine and, especially in northern Florida, slash pine.

The rate of growth is rapid, even among the generally fast-growing southern pines. The yellowish, resinous wood is highly prized for lumber, but is also used for wood pulp. This tree is commercially grown in extensive plantations.

Loblolly pine is the pine of the Lost Pines Forest around Bastrop, Texas, and in McKinney Roughs along the Texas Colorado River. These are isolated populations on areas of acidic sandy soil, surrounded by alkaline clays that are poor for pine growth.

A study using loblolly pines showed that higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may help the trees to endure ice storms better.