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Like all pine trees, both the male and female reproductive parts are found on the same longleaf tree. The flowering of longleaf pine usually begins in late winter (late February to mid-March). To the displeasure of many with allergies, pollen begins to shed in the spring and can overlap with several other southern pines. Once fertilized, woody cones on the longleaf pine tree begin to grow and eventually mature by the autumn of the second year.
Cones open and seeds fall in October and November. Seeds are large and heavy and despite having a wing, generally do not fall far from the tree. Seeds are high in fats and are thus highly prized by seed predators like mice, birds, squirrels, and ants. To overcome the massive number of seed predators, about every seven years a profusion of cones are produced by longleaf pine trees (called a mast period). Partial crops of cones generally occur in between these mast periods but often are completely consumed by seed predators.
The cones of longleaf pine are the largest of the southern pine and range
in size from 5 to 12 inches in length. Because of their large size, only
animals like the fox squirrel are sizable enough to manipulate and open
the longleaf pine cones to eat the seeds before they fall to the ground.
Today, the large size of longleaf pine cones has made them attractive
for use in arts and crafts.