Loblolly Pine - Loblolly Pine Trees

Pinaceae -- Pine family

James B. Baker and 0. Gordon Langdon

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda), also called Arkansas pine, North Carolina pine, and oldfield pine, is the most commercially important forest species in the southern United States, where it is dominant on about 11.7 million ha (29 million acres) and makes up over one-half of the standing pine volume. It is a medium-lived, intolerant to moderately tolerant tree with rapid juvenile growth. The species responds well to silvicultural treatments and can be managed as either even-aged or uneven-aged natural stands, or can be regenerated artificially and managed in plantations.

Habitat

Native Range

The native range of loblolly pine extends through 14 States from southern New Jersey south to central Florida and west to eastern Texas. It includes the Atlantic Plain, the Piedmont Plateau, and the southern extremities of the Cumberland Plateau, the Highland Rim, and the Valley and Ridge Provinces of the Appalachian Highlands. Loblolly pine does not grow naturally in the Mississippi River flood plain and is scarce in the deep, coarse sands of the lower Atlantic Plain and sandhills of North and South Carolina; it is important only in localized areas in southeastern Georgia and northern Florida (37,55,69).

Loblolly pine is an adaptable species that has been successfully planted along the periphery of its natural range and has been introduced on other continents with varying degrees of success.

Contact Information

USDA Forest Service
Northeastern Area
Office of the Director
11 Campus Blvd., Ste 200
Newtown Square, PA 19073

Phone: (610) 557-4103
TDD: (610) 557-4160
For information about publications contact, Patty Dougherty
(610)557-4225