Pinus taeda
Pinus taeda | |
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Characteristic appearance of loblolly pines, south Mississippi, USA | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Pinaceae |
Genus: | Pinus |
Subgenus: | P. subg. Pinus
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Section: | P. sect. Trifoliae
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Subsection: | P. subsect. Australes
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Species: | P. taeda
|
Binomial name | |
Pinus taeda | |
Natural range of loblolly pine |
Pinus taeda, commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several
Loblolly pine is the first among over 100 species of
Description
Loblolly pine can reach a height of 30–35 meters (98–115 feet) with a diameter of 0.4–1.5 m (1.3–4.9 ft). Exceptional specimens may reach 50 m (160 ft) tall, the largest of the southern pines. Its needles are in bundles of three, sometimes twisted, and measure 12–22 centimeters (4+3⁄4–8+3⁄4 inches) long, an intermediate length for southern pines, shorter than those of the
Although some needles fall throughout the year due to severe weather, insect damage, and drought, most needles fall during the autumn and winter of their second year. The seed cones are green, ripening pale buff-brown, 7–13 cm (2+3⁄4–5 in) in length, 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 in) broad when closed, opening to 4–6 cm (1+1⁄2–2+1⁄4 in) wide, each scale bearing a sharp spine 3 to 6 millimeters (1⁄8 to 1⁄4 in) long.[2][14]
Bark is reddish brown and deeply fissured into irregular, broad, scaly plates on older trees. Branches are reddish-brown to dark yellowish brown.[13]
Loblolly pines are one of the fastest growing pines making it a valuable species in the lumber industry. The lumber marketed as yellow pine lumber and similar usage to other southern pines such as the more stronger Longleaf and Shortleaf pines. They are also used as pulpwood.[13] It grows at an average of 2 feet per year.[15] The tallest loblolly pine currently known, which is 51.4 m (169 ft) tall, and the largest, which measures 42 cubic meters (1,500 cubic feet) in volume, are in Congaree National Park.[16]
Etymology and taxonomy
The word "loblolly" is a combination of "lob", referring to thick, heavy bubbling of cooking porridge, and "lolly", an old British dialect word for "broth, soup, or any other food boiled in a pot". In the southern United States, the word is used to mean "a mudhole; a mire," a sense derived from an allusion to the consistency of porridge. Hence, the pine is named as it is generally found in lowlands and swampy areas.[8] Loblolly pines grow well in acidic clay soil, which is common throughout the South, thus are often found in large stands in rural places.
Other old names, now rarely used, include oldfield pine due to its status as an early colonizer of abandoned fields; bull pine due to its size (several other yellow pines are also often so named, especially large isolated specimens); rosemary pine due to loblolly's distinctive fragrance compared to the other southern pines; and North Carolina pine.[17][13]
For the
Ecology
With the advent of wildfire suppression, loblolly pine has become prevalent in some parts of the Deep South that were once dominated by longleaf pine and, especially in northern Florida, slash pine.[19]
Its rate of growth is rapid, even among the generally fast-growing southern pines. The yellowish,
Loblolly pine is the pine of the Lost Pines Forest around Bastrop, Texas, and in McKinney Roughs Nature Park along the Texas Colorado River. These are isolated populations on areas of acidic sandy soil, surrounded by alkaline clays that are poor for pine growth.
A study using loblolly pines showed that higher atmospheric carbon dioxide levels may help the trees to endure ice storms better.[20]
Notable trees
The famous "
The "Morris Pine" is located in southeastern Arkansas; it is over 300 years old with a diameter of 142 cm (56 in) and a height of 35.7 m (117 ft).[22]
Loblolly pine seeds were carried aboard the Apollo 14 flight. On its return, the seeds were planted in several locations in the US, including the grounds of the White House. As of 2016[update], a number of these moon trees remain alive.[23]
Genome
Pines are the most common
The loblolly pine genome is made up of 22.18 billion base pairs, which is more than seven times that of humans.
Inbreeding depression
See also
- Sonderegger pine, a hybrid between loblolly and longleafspecies
References
- . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ a b Kral, Robert (1993). "Pinus taeda". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 2. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ a b Baker, James B.; Langdon, 0. Gordon (1990). "Pinus taeda". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Conifers. Silvics of North America. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – via Southern Research Station.
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Nix, Steve. "Ten Most Common Trees in the United States". About.com Forestry. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ^ "Loblolly Pine". Plant Information Center. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ "Loblolly pine". Virginia Tech Forestry Department. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ "Loblolly Pine". Tree Improvement Programme. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ a b The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000.
- ^ PMID 24653210.
- ^ a b Main, Douglas (20 March 2014). "Scientists Sequence The Largest Genome To Date". Popular Science. A Bonnier Corporation Company. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ PMID 29364872.
- ^ "47 Arkansas Facts". Meet The USA. 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Grimm, William Carey (1966). The Book of Trees. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stockpole Company. p. 48.
- ISBN 90-04-13916-8.
- ^ Gonzalez-Benecke, C. A., Martin, T. A., Clark, A. I., & Peter, G. F. (2010). Water availability and genetic effects on wood properties of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 40(12), 2265–2277. https://doi.org/10.1139/X10-162
- ^ Earle, Christopher J., ed. (2018). "Pinus taeda". The Gymnosperm Database.
- ISBN 978-1-4027-3875-3.
- ^ "Oklahoma Biological Survey: Pinus taeda L." Archived from the original on 2010-06-22. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
- ISBN 0-521-55176-5.
- ^ Greenhouse Gas Good for Some Trees - LiveScience.com
- ^ Boyette, John (February 16, 2014). "Masters landmark Ike's Tree suffers major damage, removed". The Augusta Chronicle. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
- ^ Bragg, Don C. "The Morris Pine" (PDF). Bulletin of the Eastern Native Tree Society. Volume 1 (Summer 2006): 20. Retrieved 2012-11-13.
- ^ Williams, David R. (28 July 2009). "The "Moon Trees"". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- PMID 23551702.
- PMID 24647006.
- PMID 24653211.
- PMID 10790407.
External links
- Data related to Pinus taeda at Wikispecies
- Media related to Pinus taeda at Wikimedia Commons