Editing Pinus taeda (section)

==Etymology and taxonomy==
The word "loblolly" is a combination of "lob", referring to thick, heavy bubbling of cooking [[porridge]], and "lolly", an old British dialect word for "broth, soup, or any other food boiled in a pot"{{citation needed|date=May 2025}}. In the southern United States, the word is used to mean "a mudhole; a mire," a sense derived from an allusion to the consistency of porridge. Hence, the pine is named as it is generally found in lowlands and swampy areas.<ref name=freedictionary/> Loblolly pines grow well in acidic clay soil, which is common throughout the South, thus are often found in large stands in rural places.

Other old names, now rarely used, include oldfield pine due to its status as an [[Ruderal species|early colonizer]] of abandoned fields; bull pine due to its size (several other [[yellow pine]]s are also often so named, especially large isolated specimens); rosemary pine due to loblolly's distinctive fragrance compared to the other southern pines; and North Carolina pine.<ref name="Moore2008">{{cite book |author1=Moore, Gerry |author2=Kershner, Bruce |author3=Tufts, Craig |author4=Mathews, Daniel |author5=Nelson, Gil |author6=Spellenberg, Richard |author7=Thieret, John W. |author8=Purinton, Terry |author9=Block, Andrew |title=National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America |publisher=Sterling |location=New York |year=2008 |page=73 |isbn=978-1-4027-3875-3}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

For the [[scientific name]], ''[[wikt:Pinus|Pinus]]'' is the Latin name for the pines and ''[[wikt:taeda|taeda]]'' refers to the resinous wood.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/pita.htm |title=Oklahoma Biological Survey: ''Pinus taeda'' L. |access-date=2010-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100622042503/http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/pita.htm |archive-date=2010-06-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref>