Heart Pine is Southern Longleaf Yellow Pine. It was the wood of choice in many larger homes in the first 200 years of our nation’s history, especially in the South, where it originally grew. Unfortunately, demand for Longleaf Pine caused it to be timbered off by the early turn of the century. Because these pine trees grow very slowly and require between 150 and 400 years to develop the “heart,” which gives the material its distinctive color and hardness, it is unlikely that this wood species will ever again be available in commercial quantities.