Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Pinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pinus taeda
FAMILY
Pinaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
and The Pines of South Carolina
Learn more about Loblolly Pine from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Superficially, P. elliottii resembles both P. palustris and P. taeda, with cone size and needle length intermediate. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022).
Southern Piedmont Natural History provides a great overview of the 2- or 2.5-year life of the familiar pine cone (female seed cone), the short life of the less familiar male pollen cone, along with photos of cones and developing seeds (pine nuts) at various stages.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus taeda
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Pinus taeda
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-004:
Pinus taeda FAMILY Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus taeda
COMMON NAME:
Loblolly Pine, Old Field Pine
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Trees You Want to Know (Peattie, 1934); illustration by F.A. Michaux dcp34_p06a
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2358_p_taeda
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_049a
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pita_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0301c_02
January Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow s050124_b
January Greenville County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0502f_32
February Sumter County SC
Manchester State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm0502f_35
February Sumter County SC
Manchester State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm090221_078
February Richland County SC
Congaree National Park
Bark on older trees dark reddish-brown, in large flat rectangular plates, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_taeda_4
February
Mature seed cones ovoid to conical, dull brown, armed w very sharp prickles, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow s050406_d
April Greenville County SC
Field
Needles 6-9" long, 3 per fascicle, stout, stiff, straight, dark green, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_taeda
July
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_pinus_taeda_5
July
)
JK Marlow jkm0210f_18a
October Oconee County SC
Loblolly in front, Virginia Pine in back.
)
JK Marlow jkm0410k_26
October Greenville County SC
Field
)
JK Marlow jkm0410k_26b
October Greenville County SC
Field
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Pinus taeda
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Pinus taeda
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Pinus taeda
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-01-004:
Pinus taeda
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Pinus taeda
1095
Tree
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Dry to dry-mesic upland forests and woodlands, riparian forests, maritime forests, sandy rises in bottomland forests, pine flatwoods, roadsides, pine plantations, disturbed areas, especially in acid soil, much more abundant and widespread than formerly, and occurring farther inland than as a native, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Mountains)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Needles 6-9" long
Needles 3 per bundle
"FLOWER":
Spring
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Fall
Cone
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p038
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p304
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p355
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p334
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p176
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p275
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p88
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p031
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p251
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p241
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".