Loblolly Pine is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from central Texas east to Florida, and north to Delaware and Southern New Jersey. It is particularly dominant in the eastern half of North Carolina, where there are huge expanses consisting solely of Loblolly Pine trees. In the rest of the South, forests often contain Loblolly Pines along with many other species of trees. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pine.
The trees reach a height of 30–35 m (98–115 ft) with a diameter of 0.4–1.5 m (1.3–4.9 ft). Exceptional specimens may reach 50 m (160 ft) tall, the largest of the southern pines. Its needles are in bundles of three, sometimes twisted, and measure 12–22 cm (4.7–8.7 in) long; an intermediate length for southern pines, shorter than those of the Longleaf Pine or Slash Pine, but longer than those of the Shortleaf Pine and Spruce Pine. The needles usually last up to two years before they fall, which gives the species its evergreen character. Although some needles fall throughout the year due to severe weather, insect damage, and drought, most needles fall during the autumn and winter of their second year. The seed cones are green, ripening pale buff-brown, 7–13 cm (2.8–5.1 in) in length, 2–3 cm (0.79–1.2 in) broad when closed, opening to 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) wide, each scale bearing a sharp 3–6 mm spine.
The tallest Loblolly Pine currently known, in Congaree National Park, is 51.4 m (169 ft) tall, and the largest, also in Congaree National Park, is 42 cubic meters in volume.
The word loblolly means 'low, wet place', but these trees are not limited to that specific habitat. Loblolly Pines grow well in acidic clay soil, which is common throughout the South, and are thus often found in large stands in rural places. Other old names, now rarely used, include oldfield pine, due to its status as an early colonizer of abandoned fields; bull pine, due to its size (several other yellow pines are also often so named, especially large isolated specimens); rosemary pine, due to loblolly's distinctive fragrance compared to the other southern pines; and North Carolina pine. For the scientific name, Pinus is the Latin name for the pines and taeda refers to the resinous wood.
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