BY: CARMEN GAEBE
Staff Writer
In 1939 the great state of Arkansas 1939 designated the ¨Pine¨ as its official state tree. No species was singled out of the bill, but two types of pine are far and away from the most commonly found in Arkansas. The Short Leaf Pine; the Scientific name Pinus echidna, has the largest range of southern pines but it reaches its ecological maxima around western Arkansas in the Ouachita Mountains. It has a high variable shape and size reaching heights of 65 to 100 feet with a trunk diameter of one to three feet and its two-four inches needles grow in bundles of two and three mixed together. It occupies a variety of habitats from rocky uplands to flood plains, and with frequent fire, it creates a savanna with a diverse understory and makes for a prime habitat for the Red Cocked Woodpecker. The Loblolly Pine; the Scientific name Pinus taeda, is a dominant pine throughout the southeastern United States and according to a survey by the U.S. Forest Service, it’s the second most common species of tree in the United States after the Red Maple. It usually reaches heights of 100 to 115 feet with a trunk diameter of one to five and its four to eight-inch needles are found in bundles of three. It’s often found in lowlands and swampy areas, which is where it gets its name from. “Lob” refers to thick bubbling porridge and “Lolly” is an old British dialect word for broth or soup, making “Loblolly” a word used to mean “mud hole” or “mire”. The Loblolly was the first species of pine to have its complete genome sequenced and was the largest genome of any organism seven times larger than that of a human – until 2018 when the axolotl’s genome was sequenced. Traditionally indigenous uses for these species are similar to many other species of pine. Their needles are rich in vitamin C turpentine obtained from their resin antiseptic and can be used to treat internal and external maladies. Both species are also extremely valuable sources of lumber; their wood has an excellent strength to weight ratio and is used in all sorts of construction.