Longleaf Pine formerly covered many millions of acres of the southeastern United States, but, due to development and the suppression of fire, it is gone from much of its former range. The farthest north its natural range reaches is southeastern Virginia. There are no natural records from Maryland. The Nature Conservancy has planted several hundred Longleaf Pines on a portion of its Plum Creek Preserve, a nearly 300-acre swath of former cropland near Sharptown, in Wicomico County, on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Plum creek is a meandering tributary of the Nanticoke River. The plantings were done experimentally in what is termed an "assisted migration" in anticipation of climate warming, which could allow the pines eventually to grow farther north than they currently do naturally. The pineland plantings are burned periodically to mimic the effects of natural or Native-American-set fire. (See Chesapeake Bay Journal article).
Longleaf Pine has very long needles, very large female cones, and large whitish terminal buds. It is fire-resistant and needs fire to thrive.
Not naturally occurring in Maryland. In southeastern Virginia, grows on sandy, Coastal-Plain sites.
Longleaf Pines are a favorite nest tree for the federally endangered and state-extirpated Red-cockaded Woodpecker. There are a few historical records of this woodpecker for Maryland, and The Nature Conservancy is hopeful that planting the pines on the Eastern Shore will help lure the woodpecker back to the state. (It currently nests in Longleaf Pines in southeastern Virginia.)
There are 0 records in the project database.
| GA | AL | WA | FR | CL | MO | HO | BA | BC | HA | CE | PG | AA | CV | CH | SM | KE | QA | CN | TA | DO | WI | SO | WO |