Longleaf Pine

 The Longleaf Pine tree is native to several states here in the south including my state of Louisiana.    https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/longleaf/ .  Once covering over 90 million acres this tree now only covers about 5% of this amount of acreage which is really troubling as these trees have grown here for 100 of years being adapted to this climate to the point of developing fire resistant bark. 
They have straight trunks which remain thin in comparison to other know trees as they grow in age.

The fact that they are disappearing is alarming as plants tend to form an eco system together becoming partners if you will in environment in which the live.  Some plants add nutrients that another plants will need or the right amount of shade/light for plants growing under them. 

We were given two seedlings of this tree from the Forestry table we visited yesterday and I could tell by the energy the lady put into telling us about the trees that it is a real goal of hers to see more of these trees replanted.  So we are going to use the worksheet we got along with it to see how it grows and then see to it that it is carefully planted. 

This a photo showing various growth of the trees the small ones on the ground I found out is called the grass stage.  https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Plants/Longleaf-Pine.aspxHas some very interesting facts about the Longleaf  Pine if you are interested in learning more.