Long Leaf Yellow Pine

Color/Appearance: Heartwood is reddish brown, sapwood is yellowish white.

Grain/Texture: Straight grained with a fine to medium texture.

Endgrain: Large resin canals, numerous and evenly distributed, mostly solitary ; earlywood to latewood transition abrupt, color contrast high; tracheid diameter medium-large.

Rot Resistance: The heartwood is rated as moderately resistant to decay.

Workability: Overall, Longleaf Pine works fairly well with most tools, though the resin can gum up tools and clog sandpaper. Longleaf Pine glues and finishes well.

Odor: Has a distinct smell that is shared among most species in the Pinus genus.

Sustainability: This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices, but is on the IUCN Red List. It is listed as vulnerable due to a population reduction of over 20% in the past three generations, caused by a decline in its natural range, and exploitation. Natural occurrences of Longleaf Pine have been replaced by plantations of Loblolly and Slash Pine.

Common Uses: Longleaf Pine is commonly used for construction, such as: stringers, roof trusses, poles, joists, piles; as well as interior applications such as subflooring and sheathing. In exterior applications, it is usually pressure-treated with preservatives.

Comments: Longleaf Pine is considered to be in the group of southern yellow pines, and shares many characteristics with other species of this group (Slash, Shortleaf, and Loblolly Pine) such as being: hard, dense, and possessing an excellent strength-to-weight ratio.