6 Prevalent Types of Pine Trees in Texas

When it comes to trees, Texas does not exactly have a shortage of them. Because of its mild climate and warm temperatures, it is easy to grow trees here, so whether you’re a homeowner wanting to plant a tree in your yard or a business owner wanting to dress up your property, you’ll always find a lot of trees to choose from.

From ash to sweet gum and cedar to soapberry, you can find almost any tree you love in the state of Texas, including six types of pine trees. Pine trees are coniferous trees and part of the evergreen family, and they consist of four types of leaves, with needles being the most common type. Pine tree wood is sturdy, which means it is used for dozens of purposes, including wood flooring, furniture, and a whole lot more.

Because it is so strong, pine wood has dozens of uses, including construction, furniture, ornamental uses, reforestation, and food, as pine nuts have been eaten for thousands of years.

The pine tree has also been mentioned in literature, Chinese culture, and religious texts, among others. To review specific types of pine trees found in the state of Texas, keep reading.

1. Loblolly Pine (pinus taeda)

Loblolly-Pine-Trees
Loblolly Pine Tree

You won’t have to look far to find loblolly pine trees, because they are second only to red maple when it comes to how many of them there are in the country. Although the average size of the loblolly pine is roughly 115 feet, the largest one is found in Congaree National Park in South Carolina and is a huge 170 feet in height.

The loblolly pine trees are native to the southeastern United States and are found mostly in lowlands and swampy areas. The needles grow in bundles of three and the cones can get up to five inches long.

2. Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris Mill.)

Longleaf-Pine-Pinus-palustris-Mill.
Chuck Bargeron, University of Georgia Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)

Native to the southeastern part of the United States, this tree gets to around 115 feet in height, but before extensive logging became common, it had the ability to grow up to 150 feet tall. Its circumference is roughly 30 inches. 

One of the wood’s unique characteristics is that it doesn’t rot, which is why it is sometimes used for flooring in upscale homes. The wood can also be used for wood pulp and even lumber.

3. Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata Mill.)

Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata)
Kenraiz Shortleaf Pine (Pinus echinata)

Shortleaf pine trees can be found in the eastern United States and in some parts of the southwest. It doesn’t get super tall — only around 100 feet — and its trunk gets to roughly three feet. It is also an easy tree to grow because it can grow in numerous growing conditions and soil types.

Used mostly as wood pulp and plywood veneer because of its irregular shape, the shortleaf pine tree still has important uses, which means using its wood is not that uncommon.

4. Southern White Pine (Pinus strobus)

Eastern-White-Pine-Trees-Pinus-strobus
Eastern White Pine Tree (Pinus strobus)

Oddly, the southern white pine is also called the western and eastern white pine, and it has needles that grow in groups of five, although they can also grow in groups of three or four.

The tree lives a long time, typically 200-250 years, but there are records of southern white pines that lived to be 500 years old. Their heights range from 160 to 190 feet, although some have gotten even taller.

The wood of this tree is versatile and has been used to make tea (when using its needles), in plantation forestry, and for making gardens and parks a little more attractive.

5. Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)

pinus ponderosa in summer
J Brew Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa pine) in summer

The Ponderosa pine is a very large tree, getting to 230 feet in height and a circumference of up to 27 feet. You can find them in numerous public gardens and parks because they are so attractive, and the tallest of these trees had a height of nearly 270 feet. With bright-green needles and brownish-black bark, the Ponderosa pine is truly an eye-catching tree indeed.

6. Nut Pine (Pinus monophylla)

Nut Pine or Pinyon pine Pinus monophylla
Dcrjsr | wikimedia Nut Pine or Pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla)

Some people call this a single-leaf pinion pine, and it doesn’t grow very tall — only 30-60 feet. The needles grow singly, which makes them unusual for pine trees, and the tiny cones are but half an inch in length.

They are difficult to germinate and therefore rarely seen in nurseries, but the tree can be found in many Christmas tree lots.

The nut pine tree is the state tree for numerous states, including Nevada, and it is found often in wildlife gardens. It is also a very drought-resistant tree type.