Appendices & Glossary - Botanical Research Institute of Texas

1318 APPENDIX TWENTY-ONE/COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT TIMBER TREES OF EAST TEXAS
PINUS ECHINATA Mill. SHORTLEAF PINE
(PINACEAE, PINE FAMILY)
Other Common Names: SHORTLEAF YELLOW PINE, LONGTAG PINE, SHORTSTRAW PINE, ARKANSAS PINE, ARKANSAS SOFT PINE,
SOUTHERN YELLOW PINE, OLDFIELD PINE
Form and Size: tall tree to 25–40 m; trunk to 1.2 m in diameter; crown rounded to cone-shaped.
Leaves: needles 2(–3) per bundle, (5–)7–11(–13) cm long, yellowish-green to gray-green; bundle sheath 0.5–1(–1.5) cm long.
Buds: terminal buds 0.5–0.7(–1) cm long, ovoid to cylindrical, red-brown.
Seed Cones: solitary or clustered, 4–6(–7) cm long, red-brown, aging gray, nearly sessile or on stalks to 1 cm, the scales with
an elongate to short, stout, sharp prickle, maturing in two years.
Pollen Cones: cylindrical, 15–20 mm long at time of pollen release, yellow to pale purple-green.
Bark: on older stems red-brown, 2–2.8 cm thick, furrowed, and separated into irregular, flat, scaly plates, with evident
resin pockets.
Wood: sapwood nearly white to yellowish, orange-white or pale yellow, thin to very thick; heartwood distinct, ranging
through shades of yellow and orange to red-brown or light brown, resinous; grain coarse and generally straight but uneven;
wood with a distinct resinous odor.
Habitat: uplands and dry forests, often on abandoned fields or exhausted farmland; adaptable in terms of site and soil
conditions.
Range: Pineywoods and Post Oak Savannah as far west as Brazos, Leon, Henderson, Red River, and Lamar cos. and spreading
from cultivation in Fannin Co. in Red River drainage; most prevalent in the northeastern part of East Texas, extending
into the southeastern areas of higher moisture along deep sand ridges; this species has the widest range of any Pinus in
the southeastern U.S. growing from NY s to FL w to OK and TX.
Principal Uses: pulpwood (converted for use in the manufacture of kraft paper, insulation, and other types of fiberboard),
plywood and lumber (used principally for such building materials as interior finish, frame and sash, joists, and
subflooring), particle board, poles, railroad ties, crates and pallets, boxes.
Historical Uses: used from the early days of colonization as a wood for ship construction (e.g., masts, spars, decks, cabins),
mine timbers, cooperage (barrels), agricultural implements, tanks and silos, and railroad-car construction. Resinous
splinters of the heartwood were widely used as kindling and known as “fat pine,” “lightwood,” or “light’d.”
Other Significant Information: this is the most cold hardy of all the southern pines. Though highly valued for timber and
pulpwood, it is afflicted by root rot. It also tends to grow relatively slowly during the early years after establishment.
Mixed forests containing this species are frequently replaced by monoculture plantations of P. taeda (LOBLOLLY PINE).
Pinus echinata hybridizes with P. taeda.
Recognition in the Field: needles 2(–3) per bundle, (5–)7–11(–13) cm long, yellowish-green to gray-green; terminal buds
red-brown, 0.5–0.7(–1) cm long; seed cones 4–6(–7) cm long (the smallest of any East Texas pine).