North Carolina State Tree

North Carolina State Tree

Longleaf Pine 

Longleaf Pine Pinaceae Pinus palustrisNorth Carolina state tree Longleaf pine

Leaf

Evergreen, very long and feathery (8 to 18 inches long), with three dark
green needles per fascicle.

Flower

Monoecious; males yellow-red, long, in clusters; females oval, purple.

Fruit

Very large (largest cone in the Eastern U. S. –6 to 10 inches long),
ovoid to conical in shape, sessile. Scales are red-brown in color. The umbo (A blunt or rounded protuberance, as on the ends of the scales of pine cones) is armed with a curved prickle. Maturing September to October.

Twig

Very stout, brown, with large obvious, asbestos-white buds.

Bark

Quite scaly, orange-brown to gray, will eventually develop plates.

Form

A medium-sized tree with a straight trunk, coarse branches and tufted
needles at ends of branches.

north-carolina-tree
Copyright 2019 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler,
Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and
John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654;
range map source information