Wood Species: Pine, Southern Yellow

Scientific Name: Pinus palustris

Trade Name: Southern Pine

Family Name: Pinaceae

Common Names: Long Leaf Pine, Long Leaf Yellow Pine, Yellow Pine, and Pitch Pine

Regions of Distribution: Found in the Southern United States (East Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida.

Countries of Distribution: Found only in the United States.

Appearance

Color: The wood of the southern yellow pine is light yellowish brown in color.

GRAIN: The grain is normally straight, wide, and slightly uneven with a rough finish and medium texture.

Variations within species and grades: There is a very low to moderate color variation between species of the southern pine.

Properties

Hardness/Janka: Southern yellow pine is a very heavy, hard, tough, and durable wood. It has a Janka hardness of 690

Dimensional stability: Any lumber that is less than two inches in thickness must be dried quite well. This will minimize shrinkage and also help the wood to last longer. It does have a slow rate of rotting.

Origin: Native to North America

Availability: Not as widely available as previous as southern yellow pine forests have been depleted. They are slowly making a comeback.

Average and maximum lifespan: The average lifespan is 300 years. The maximum lifespan is 500 years.

Workability

Sawing/Machining: The resin from the wood may cause blades and cutting tools to stick and reduce their effectiveness.

Sanding: This wood stands up well to sanding and provides a smooth and even surface.

Nailing: This wood is easy to nail either by hand or with a nail gun.

Finishing: This wood may prevent finishes from taking properly especially around knots.

Common Uses: Common uses of the southern yellow pine are to create turpentine, tar, pitch, and pine oil. It can be used to manufacture furniture, posts and docks. It is also preferred for landscaping when there is very sandy soil that won’t accommodate many other species of trees or plants.

Detailed Description

Plant habit and life style: Southern yellow pine has a high tolerance to salt and drought. It does require full sun. These trees flourish best when exposed to regular and frequent low intensity fires.

Stems: The bark is orange-brown with very rough and scaly plates covering the trunk.

Buds: Buds tend to be silvery while in color and are oval shaped.

Leaves: The Southern yellow pine displays very long pine needles, up to 10 centimeters in length, which are usually yellow-greenish in color. The needles are slightly twisted and bunched on the smaller branches.

Flowers: Flowers bloom in the early spring starting as a deep rose-purple and then eventually turning to a silvery-white color. The male flowers are more noticeable and are found in short, dense groups. The female flowers are more subtle and discreet. They are usually only seen in groups of two or four.

Fruits: The pine cones are long and cylinder-like in shape and are a dull brown in color. The southern yellow pine seeds in the autumn and germinate approximately two weeks later.

Habitat: These trees can be found in warm coastal areas, dry, sandy uplands, sand hills, and flat woods.

Special Diagnostic Characters: Southern Yellow Pines are exclusive homes to many endangered animal species. The Red Cockaded Woodpecker will only nest in one of these trees and only if it has the Red Heart Disease. This allows the woodpecker to make a desirable home in this otherwise hard wood. After a fire, the hollowed out deep root system provides homes for insects and snakes. The vast carpets of needles that fall to the forest floor provide food for butterflies.