How to Identify Long Needle Pine Trees

Long needle pine trees, more often called longleaf pine or Georgia pine, grow along the southern states from Virginia to Texas. The longleaf pine is used for the production of lumber, tar, turpentine, wood pulp and poles, or when left in forests forms an independent ecosystem. To identify longleaf or long needle pine trees, inspect the characteristics of your tree to see if it matches the size, bark and needle pairing features of the long needle pine.

Instructions

- 1
  Look at the size of the mature tree from a distance to estimate its height. Mature long needle pines grow to between 100 to 120 feet tall.
- 2
  Estimate the diameter of the tree's trunk up close. The trunk of your longleaf pine should be anywhere from 2 feet to 2 feet, 6 inches in diameter.
- 3
  Note the bark of the tree for orange-brown or gray coloration. The bark should also appear divided into chunks, which resemble scales over the trunk of the tree, rather than a solid sheet of bark wrapping the entire outer surface.
- 4
  Check the needles of the tree to ensure they are dark green in color with a shine to their surface. The individual needles run between 6 to 18 inches long and will grow from bunches, pairing three needles in each cluster.
- 5
  Note the size of any seed cones, if present on the ground or on the tree, to see how large they are. Longleaf pine cones range from 6 to 10 inches long, making them the largest seed cones of all southern pines.

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