Slash pine

Pinus elliottii Engelm. · Softwood · North America

≈37 lb/ft³ dried (est.)

Properties

Average dried weight (est.)	37 lb/ft³ (590 kg/m³)
Specific gravity	0.59
Modulus of rupture	16,300 psi (112.4 MPa)
Modulus of elasticity	1.98 million psi (13.65 GPa)
Crushing strength	8,140 psi (56.1 MPa)
Shrinkage — radial	5.4%
Shrinkage — tangential	7.6%
Shrinkage — volumetric	12.1%
Shrinkage T/R ratio	1.4

Values at 12% moisture content, clear-wood averages. Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook FPL-GTR-282 (2021), Table 5-3 p. 5-13; shrinkage Table 4-3 p. 4-8.

Slash pine is one of the major southern pines, ranging across Florida and the coastal plain east of the Mississippi River. With longleaf pine, it is classed among the heavy, strong, stiff, hard southern pines.

Appearance & grain

Southern pine sapwood is yellowish white and usually wide in second-growth trees; the heartwood is reddish brown.

Workability

Slash pine is classified as heavy, strong, stiff, and hard, with moderately high shock resistance. The southern pines have moderately high shrinkage but are dimensionally stable when properly dried.