Plant
Loblolly pine
Pinus taeda
A fast-growing pine of the southeastern U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains, the dominant commercial timber species of the region. Reaches 80–100 feet tall, with characteristic 6–9 inch needles in bundles of three and 3–6 inch cones. On the Delmarva Peninsula, loblolly is the dominant pine of working timber stands and successional fields. Mixed loblolly-hardwood forest is the peninsula's most common forest type. Native to the Coastal Plain — historically less abundant on Delmarva than today's commercial-stand acreage suggests, but present as a natural component of mixed pine-hardwood forest.
Scientific
Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is a member of the southern yellow pine group, native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains from [[harrington-delaware|Delaware]]/southern New Jersey south through Florida and west to East Texas. Reaches 80–100 feet (occasionally taller), with a straight trunk and an open, irregular crown.
Identification: 6–9 inch slender needles in bundles of three; 3–6 inch ovoid-conical cones with sharp prickles; reddish-brown furrowed bark. Distinguishable from shortleaf pine (smaller cones, shorter needles) and longleaf pine (much longer needles, often in pairs of two) by these features.
Growth: among the fastest-growing pines in North America. Tolerates a wide range of soils, including poorly-drained sites; can colonize abandoned agricultural fields rapidly.
Delmarva populations
Loblolly is the dominant pine of working timber stands across the [[delmarva-peninsula|Delmarva Peninsula]]. Historically less abundant on [[delmarva-peninsula|Delmarva]] (which sits at the northern edge of the species’ native range), but planted heavily for commercial timber and now self-seeds aggressively into successional fields.
Mixed loblolly-hardwood forest — loblolly with sweetgum, [[red-maple|red maple]], oaks, and hickories — is the peninsula’s most common forest type today. Pure loblolly plantations are also widespread and represent active commercial silviculture.
The [[delmarva-fox-squirrel|Delmarva fox squirrel]], the federally-recovered endemic, uses mature open-canopy mixed loblolly-hardwood forest as core habitat.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Produces: [[firewood]]
- Member of: [[plants]]
- Contained by: [[delmarva-peninsula]]
Sources
- USDA Forest Service silvics manual
- [[harrington-delaware|Delaware]] Forest Service inventory data
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Scientific
cousin of
- Pine auto-linked via shared tag: conifer
1 inbound link · 3 outbound