#longleaf pine

longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)

historically, the longleaf pine grew across a pine-grassland savanna (meaning the trees were sparse with a diversity of grasses, shrubs and wild flowers growing beneath) that covered 92 million acres from virginia, as south as central florida, and as west as eastern texas. unfortunately, due to fire suppression (the tree + ecosystem relies on forest fires, the heat of which cause the pinecones to open and release its seeds), logging, development, and agriculture, this ecosystem has been reduced to less than 3% of its original coverage.