This is a remarkable tree.
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These longleaf pines are in Mississippi. (AP/Janet McConnaughey) -
The tree is named after its long needles. (AP/Janet McConnaughey) -
Keith Coursey stands in gallberry plants. These bushes can block sunlight from other plants. (AP/Janet McConnaughey) -
These tiny sundews live near the pines. (AP/Janet McConnaughey) -
Louisiana pine snakes live in the forests too. (Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal/AP)
Where is a good place for pitcher plants and indigo snakes to live? Longleaf pine forests!
The tall trees once grew from Virginia to Texas. Almost all were gone 30 years ago. People now work to save this wonderful tree.
Read More: God says in Isaiah 41:19, “I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together.” The longleaf pine has 12- to 18-inch needles in bundles of three. The pine grows best in sandy, dry soil. Its seeds need to touch bare ground in order to sprout. Fire helps clear the ground. It also kills shrubs and trees that block sunshine from reaching the seedlings. Loggers and farmers cut down most of the longleaf pine forests in the past. Members of the Longleaf Alliance now plant new trees.
