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Slash pine is the premier tree species on many sites throughout the South. Its ease of establishment and early growth, however, has extended its range to many sites where its performance has been less than ideal. For that reason, the acreage and volume of slash pine are declining. Nonetheless, it will continue to be the favored species on many sites where it is the most appropriate and productive species. This paper reviews slash pine's important silvical characteristics, its history of use and management, and the status and trends of this important resource. PhenologySeeds mature in a 3-year period from when the strobili are initiated. The primordia of new strobili are detectable in late spring. These cone initials overwinter as buds the first year. When pollen is shed in late January or February of the second year, the male strobili are purple and 2 inches long. The female strobili appear on stalks in the upper crown and are about 1 inch long and red to purple at the time of pollination. Soon after pollination, the pollen tube stops growing and appears to remain in a quiescent state for the summer and winter. During the third growing season fertilization occurs-some 12 to 14 months after pollination. Cones enlarge and seeds mature during the third summer. Needles develop on new growth in spring and persist until the end of the second growing season. DistributionThe natural range of slash pine is the most restricted of all major southern pines, extending from southern South Carolina to central Florida and westward to southeastern Louisiana (fig. 2). Although its natural range is relatively small, slash pine has been planted widely and its range extended into eastern Texas, southern North Carolina, and the sandhills between the Coastal Plain and the Piedmont through much of the Southeast (Fisher 1983). Slash pine has been introduced into many countries for timber production. Large-scale introductions have occurred in Brazil,