How is Longleaf Pine in the mountains of northern Alabama connected to anything in our area? Posted: May 19, 2021 8:47 PM Updated: May 20, 2021 1:30 AM Posted By: Chad Evans Still working on this..... Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) is a beautiful pine of large cones & seeds & very long needles native to the southern U.S. (mostly Deep South). At one time, it completely dominated the Coastal Plain from Missississippi to North Carolina. Longleaf thrives on disturbance. Its seeds do not go very far, as they are bulky & heavy & the trees grow extremely slow, especially in the first 5 years of their lives. It may take 10-15 years for them to really develop into a nice sapling. They spend their first few years looking like a cluster of grass. They spend their time developing a monstrous taproot that makes them extremely drought resistant.