|                    Longleaf pine
                      |  
              
                |                    Pinus palustris  
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                |                    Pinaceae 
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                 Landscape Uses:
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                 Accent or specimen tree. | 
               
                Ecological Restoration Notes:  | 
               
              
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                | Availability: | 
               
              
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                 Widely available in central Florida. Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida. | 
               
              
                | Description: | 
               
              
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                 Medium to large tree with a open, irregular, broadly conical crown.  Trunks erect, straight, to 2 feet or more in diameter, but usually much less in South Florida.  Bark dark gray, furrowed, and broken into irregular plates.  Needles in bundles of 3s, 8-10 inches long. | 
               
              
                | Height: | 
               
              
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                 Typically 30-50 feet in height in South Florida; to 105 feet in Florida.  Taller than broad. | 
               
              
                | Growth Rate: | 
               
              
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                 Moderate. | 
               
              
                | Range: | 
               
              
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                 Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Indian River, Glades and Lee counties. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the  Exploring Florida website. | 
               
              
                | Habitats: | 
               
              
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                 Sandhills. | 
               
              
                | Soils: | 
               
              
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                 Moist, well-drained sandy soils, without humus. | 
               
              
                | Nutritional Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils. | 
               
              
                | Salt Water Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. | 
               
              
                | Salt Wind Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. | 
               
              
                | Drought Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 High; does not require any supplemental water once established. | 
               
              
                | Light Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Full sun. | 
               
              
                | Flower Color: | 
               
              
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                 Greenish turning brown. | 
               
              
                | Flower Characteristics: | 
               
              
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                 Cone.  Pollination is by wind. | 
               
              
                | Flowering Season: | 
               
              
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                 All year. | 
               
              
                | Fruit: | 
               
              
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                 Brown cone. | 
               
              
                | Wildlife and Ecology: | 
               
              
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                 Provides moderate amounts of food and cover for wildlife. | 
               
                     
                | Horticultural Notes: | 
               
              
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                 Can be grown from seed. | 
               
              
                | Comments: | 
               
              
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                 Seedlings resemble coarse clumps of grass.  It may take 3-10 years to develop a trunk, after which growth is fairly rapid. | 
               
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