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Shortleaf Pine Inside and Out
Shortleaf Pine Inside and Out
Mature Height: 100 feet (In 2009, Oklahoma’s State Champion was 114 feet tall)
Mature Diameter: 30 inches (In 2009, Oklahoma’s State Champion was 36 inches in diameter)
Form: Pyramidal crown, straight trunk, well-pruned
Twigs: Rough, green to purple with white glaucous when young; red-brown to black when mature
Leaves: Evergreen needles of 2 or 3 per fascicle, about 2 ½ to 4 inches long; acicular, slender, flexible; dark green to yellow-green
Bark: Rough in seedlings and new branches; irregular, flat and scaly yellow-brown to dark brown plates that are 1 inch thick when mature (an adaptation to fire)
Female strobili: Light green to purple and armed on short stalks in clusters of 2 to 4
Male strobili: Cylindrical, red to yellow, in clusters on new shoots in the lower crown
Cones: Dull brown, egg-shaped, 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches long, with prickles on scales; seeds are paired under the scales, dark brown, 3/16 inches long with 5/8-inch papery wing
Wood: Reddish to orange brown, with thick, whitish or yellowish sapwood; medium textured, moderately heavy, moderately hard and strong, resinous; valuable for lumber, panels, veneer, pulp, posts and poles
Range: The map above shows the original species range in Oklahoma as determined by Dr. Elbert L. Little, Jr.
