Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)

The Longleaf Pine was named because it has the longest pine needles of any southern pine tree and is a Keystone species that inhabits the Coastal Plains of the Southeastern United States. The Longleaf pine used to thrive from southwest Virginia to the eastern part of Texas covering over 90,000,000 acres! Today however, due to timberharvesting, agriculture, and turpentine production these massive pines now cover only around 3,000,000 acres.

Longleafs are hard to reproduce because they only produce seeds every couple of years. Not only that but young saplings (left image) will not grow tall but will stay this size for up to 10 years before ever gaining height.

http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/compass/summer2005/01llpfacts_sb.htm