Also called the Pinus taeda or North Carolina Pine, the Loblolly Pine is one of the many pines that originated from the American South, and is particularly abundant in eastern North Carolina. There are huge expanses of these trees in the state, whereas in most other forests they fade into the background in the presence of other species of trees. It is one of the varieties of the Southern Yellow Pine. Some other old names for the Loblolly Pine are Bull Pine, Oldfield Pine and Rosemary Pine.
Appearance
These Loblolly Pine trees can grow to reach heights of one hundred and fifteen feet and diameters of 2 meters.
Exceptional specimens can reach one hundred and fifty feet in height. The needles of this tree come in bundles of three and are sometimes twisted and quite long. They are shorter than those of the Southern Yellow Pine but longer than those found on other pine species. The cones are green in colour but ripen to a light buff brown colour, and each scale has a sharp spine on it.
Growth
Although the word ‘loblolly’ means ‘wet, low place’, it doesn’t imply that these trees can only be grown in such a habitat. These trees can grow well in clay soil that is acidic, which is exactly the type of soil that is found in most of the South, and as a result this tree is found often in large stands in rural areas.
The rate of growth of this tree is quite rapid, even in comparison to the other usually fast growing species of Southern pines. It is commercially grown in several plantations, along with the rest of the Pine species.
The needles that make up the leaves of the Loblolly Pine generally last up to around two years before they all off, and this gives the tree its evergreen character. Some needles do fall off throughout the year due to many other reasons, such as damage by insects and animals, severe weather conditions, and drought periods, the majority of them manage to hang on until it is autumn and winter of the second year of their lives.
Uses
This pine is one of the most important and most cultivated timber species found in the southern United States. Because of its rapid growth rate in a wide variety of soil types, it is mainly planted to obtain its lumber and pulpwood. It has a resinous, yellow wood that serves well as lumber and pulp fibres.
It is used heavily in the manufacture of pulpwood, composite boards, plywood, furniture, cabinetry, pilings, boxes, crates, posts and pallets. It is also planted in order to help stabilize damaged, forested or eroded soils. It is sometimes used as an ornamental or shade tree, and also as bark mulch.
The Loblolly Pine offers food and cover for a wide range of forest wildlife. The white tailed deer, fox squirrel, gray squirrel, wild turkey and bobwhite quail all make use of both mixed and pure loblolly stands for making their shelter. Red cockaded woodpeckers use these trees for their nesting and for foraging habitat, along with a few other birds such as the pine warbler, Bachman’s warbler and brown headed nuthatch.
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