Other Common Names: Southern pine, Georgia pine, Longleaf yellow pine, Longstraw pine, Southern yellow pine

Scientific Name: Pinus palustris

Native to Alabama: Yes

Longleaf Pine Stand
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Benny Simpson
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• I am a vascular plant with a woody trunk supporting woody branches, so I am a tree.
• I keep leaves year-round, so I am evergreen.
• I renew my growth each spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
• I can grow 60 – 120 feet high and 30 – 40 feet wide.

• Prevent soil from becoming completely dry.
• Tree will naturally prune lower branches, but any dead growth can be removed.
• Can use lawn fertilizer three times per year for faster growth.

Male cones
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Patsy Chaney
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Female cone
Flickr – bobistraveling
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• All plants start life as a seed.
• The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
• The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
• After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
• After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
• When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
• Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

• The longleaf pine tree depends on fire for reproduction. They have special adaptations throughout their life cycle that allow them to thrive when fire is present.
• After the seed germinates, the longleaf pine tree goes through several distinct life cycle stages.
• The seedling stage of the longleaf pine life cycle takes about a year. During this stage, the first needles will begin to push through the seed wall.

Seedling Stage
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Alan Cressler
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• During the grass stage, the plant does not grow in height and resembles a clump of grass. During this stage, the stem of the plant grows in thickness, and the taproot quickly develops. The needles protect the developing bud from fire. This stage lasts between 1 and 7 years.

Grass Stage
Flickr – Chris M. Morris
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• During the bottlebrush stage (or candlestick stage), the tree begins to grow vertically. A white growing tip will grow straight upward before needles grow from it and it turns brown. The growing bud of the longleaf pine is protected from fire during this stage because of the height the plant is able to achieve. The growing bud is usually above where the fire would reach. This stage lasts for 1-2 years.

Bottlebrush Stage
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Patsy Chaney
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• During the sapling stage, the plant continues to grow in height and begins to form branches. This stage lasts for several years.

Sapling Stage
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Stephanie Brundage
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• When the tree has reached its mature stage, it begins producing reproductive cones. The tree will also self prune any lower branches.

Mature Longleaf Pines
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Alan Cressler
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