In 2002 the USPS issued this souvenir sheet “Longleaf Pine Forest” which is the 4th in A Series “Nature of America” (34c) The longleaf pine forest is the largest conifer (cone-bearing) forest east of the Mississippi River. The rough-barked trees grow up to 100 feet tall, with dark green, shiny needles up to 18 inches and cones up to 10 inches long. A mature tree can live 500 years. The longleaf pine forest is home to thousands of species of animals, reptiles, amphibians, and plants. Some are found nowhere else, and some, like the red-cockaded woodpecker, the flatwoods salamander, the gopher tortoise, and the Florida pine snake, are either endangered or threatened species. Before Europeans arrived in America, the longleaf pine forest covered as many as 60 million acres, stretching from southeastern Virginia to eastern Texas. Today, fewer than 4 million acres remain. The Longleaf Pine Forest pane is the fourth in the Nature of America Series.