LOBLOLLY PINE

The loblolly pine is widespread in the Historic Triangle area but is probably of the third or fourth generation since the settlers arrived in 1607. It is a fast-growing tree belonging to the yellow-pine group and frequently grows up to one hundred feet tall. It is much prized by lumbermen for a straight trunk that for the first twenty to thirty feet is devoid of knots. Because loblolly adapts well to tree farm growth, probably more are found in this situation than in the wild. The early colonists bled the loblolly and collected the resin to boil down for pitch and tar.

The bark is dark brown in color, has deep furrows, and on mature trees may be up to two inches thick. At one time, the bark was discarded at the mill, but now it is salvaged and sold for mulching purposes.

The leaves or pine needles are six to eight inches long and are prized for mulch around azaleas, gardenias and camellias. The cone shaped fruit, three to five inches long, is covered with spines that protect the seeds in their formative growth. Green and hard until the next year, the cones are a favorite food of squirrels who cut them open in early fall to get at the seeds. The cones ripen in the second year when the inch-long winged seeds escape and float to the ground.

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