Pinus taeda

Loblolly pine, a 3-needle pine, is in the pine or Pinaceae family and is native to the southeastern states of the USA. It can reach a height of 45 m.

Loblolly pine has been commercially planted heavily in the South for sawlogs to produce lumber and its by-product, pulp.

• Needles are in fascicles of 3 (with occasional 2 or 4), 15–22 cm long, slender, stiff, apex acute, with a persistent sheath 2.5 cm long , needles persisting 3–4 years. Branches are in annual whorls.
• Species is monoecious; male pollen cones (strobili) are yellow, cylindrical, 1.5-3.0 cm long, in clusters near branch tips, appearing in early spring; seed cones are 1.5-3.0 cm long, ovoid-cylindrical, sub terminal, solitary, sessile, with a short peduncle, maturing in 2 years. Cone scale has sharp, stout spine.
• Bark is thin, scaly, blackish; in mature trees, is scaly, reddish brown, breaking into flat, rectangular plates with longitudinal fissures.