pines of california -...
TRANSCRIPT
Important Pines of California
There are 19 kinds of native pines of
California
5-Needled Pines of California
whitebark pine Pinus albicaulis
foxtail pine Pinus balfouriana
sugar pine Pinus lambertiana
western white pine Pinus monticola
Torrey pine Pinus torreyana
intermountain bristlecone pine Pinus longaeva
limber pine Pinus flexilis
3-Needled Pines of California
knobcone pine Pinus attenuata
Coulter pine Pinus coulteri
Jeffrey pine Pinus jeffreyi
ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa
Monterey pine Pinus radiata
ghost, gray, foothill pine Pinus sabiniana
2-Needled Pines of California
lodgepole pine Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana
beach pine Pinus contorta ssp. contorta
Bishop pine Pinus muricata
Pinyons of California
singleleaf pinyon Pinus monophylla
Parry pinyon Pinus quadrifolia
beach pine Pinus contorta ssp. contorta
Bishop pine Pinus muricata
Pine Terms to Know
Fascicle/Bundle
Bundle sheath
Deciduous/Persistent
Cone stalk--peduncle
Cone scale
scale bract
umbo
Seed wing
The seed cone matures in 2 (rarely 3) years.
It is comprised of woody cone scales with
subtending bracts spirally arranged around a
central axis.
The exposed part of each scale has a bump
called an umbo on the back or tip. On some
pines, the umbo will be armed with a prickle.
Seeds occur in at the base of the cone scale
and can be winged or wingless.
5-Needled Pines of California
whitebark pine Pinus albicaulis
sugar pine Pinus lambertiana
western white pine Pinus monticola
Torrey pine Pinus torreyana
intermountain bristlecone pine Pinus longaeva
limber pine Pinus flexilis
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine,
“The cones of this pine were so
rare, that…I had for two weeks an
offer…of a dollar for a good cone;
and no one was able to claim the
reward.”
John S. Newberry, MD, 1855
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine
•scales thick, umbo terminal and armed
•Seeds wingless
•Needles 5, 1-3”, at ends of twigs
•Grows at high elevation
•Cones short-stalked, ovoid-globose, 2-3”, serotinous
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine
•Mutualistic relationship with
Clark’s nutcracker
(whitebark dependent upon
the birds for reproduction)
•Cone scales do not open,
just loosen
•Cones are purple and
shiny with resin
•Birds hack them free while
cones still pitchy
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine
Whitebark pine is a candidate for listing under the
Endangered Species Act
The Service believes that listing whitebark pine
may be warranted due to disease and predation,
specifically, white pine blister rust and mountain
pine beetle, and the inadequacy of regulatory
mechanisms to address them. These primary
threats are exacerbated by threats from habitat
loss due to changes in forest composition and
fire regimes from fire suppression practices.
Pinus albicaulis, whitebark pine
Whitebark pine is considered
a keystone species because it
regulates runoff by slowing the
progress of snowmelt,
reduces soil erosion by
initiating early succession
after fires and other
disturbances, and provides
seeds that are a high-energy
food source for some birds
and mammals.
Pinus balfouriana, foxtail pine
Cones short-stalked, ovoid, 3-5”, scales thick, umbo with prickle
Needles 5, short, about 1”, branches bushy
Subalpine, above 5000’, lives 2100 yrs
Found near bristlecone and whitebark pines
Pinus balfouriana, foxtail pine
Endemic to
California in
Klamath
Ranges, North
Coast Range,
and southern
Sierra Nevada
Pinus balfouriana, foxtail pine
Pinus lambertiana,
sugar pine
Cones large, long-stalked, cylindrical, 11-20 in
Scales thin, umbo terminal, unarmed
Needles 5, 3-4 in.
Good timber tree, mid-montane, cooler and wetter
Dwarf mistletoe, blister rust, and fire-susceptible
Geographic range of sugar pine
1936, Santa Barbara County.
Photo by Albert Everett Wieslander, courtesy of
the Marian Koshland Bioscience and Natural
Resources Library, University of California,
Berkeley. Note 3 foot scale at base of tree.
Pinus lambertiana,
sugar pine
Longest cones, tallest pine in the world
“Historically, some amazingly large trees were known. The largest
tree ever recorded in Oregon, which contained some splendid trees
until they were all logged out, was the Prospect Giant at 80.8 tall and
400 cm dbh (Frank Callahan email 2011.01.05). The largest ever
recorded, though, was found by David Douglas on the very day that
he discovered this species to science; October 26, 1826. Preparatory
to this account, I should say that Douglas' work has been extensively
reviewed, and he has a reputation for accurately reporting his facts.
In his journal for that day, he writes:
New or strange things seldom fail to make great impressions, and
often at first we are liable to over-rate them; and lest I should never
see my friends to tell them verbally of this most beautiful and
immensely large tree, I now state the dimensions of the largest one I
could find that was blown down by the wind: Three feet [1 m] from the
ground, 57 feet 9 inches in circumference [5.60 m diam.]; 134 feet
[40.84 m] from the ground, 17 feet 5 inches [1.69 m diam.]; extreme
length, 215 feet [65.53 m].“
Sugar Pine info from http://www.conifers.org/
“Although it is not strictly relevant, I will finish the quote, which gives a
good picture of Douglas' life as a plant-hunter:
The trees are remarkably straight; bark uncommonly smooth for such
large timber, of a whitish or light brown colour; and yields a great
quantity of gum of a bright amber colour. The large trees are destitute
of branches, generally for two-thirds the length of the tree; branches
pendulous, and the cones hanging from their points like small sugar-
loaves in a grocer’s shop, it being only on the very largest trees that
cones are seen, and the putting myself in possession of three cones
(all I could) nearly brought my life to an end. Being unable to climb or
hew down any, I took my gun and was busy clipping them from the
branches with ball when eight Indians came at the report of my gun.
They were all painted with red earth, armed with bows, arrows,
spears of bone, and flint knives, and seemed to me anything but
friendly. I endeavoured to explain to them what I wanted and they
seemed satisfied and sat down to smoke,” (cont. on next slide)
had no sooner done so than I perceived one string his bow and
Sugar Pine info from http://www.conifers.org/ (cont.)
“but had no sooner done so than I perceived one string his bow and
another sharpen his flint knife with a pair of wooden pincers and hang
it on the wrist of the right hand, which gave me ample testimony of
their inclination. To save myself I could not do by flight, and without
any hesitation I went backwards six paces and cocked my gun, and
then pulled from my belt one of my pistols, which I held in my left
hand. I was determined to fight for life. As I as much as possible
endeavoured to preserve my coolness and perhaps did so, I stood
eight or ten minutes looking at them and they at me without a word
passing, till one at last, who seemed to be the leader, made a sign for
tobacco, which I said they should get on condition of going and
fetching me some cones. They went, and as soon as out of sight I
picked up my three cones and a few twigs, and made a quick retreat
to my camp, which I gained at dusk."
Sugar Pine info from http://www.conifers.org/ (cont.)
Sugar pine cones on lava flow, Medicine Lake Highlands, eastern
Siskiyou County
Pinus monticola, western white pine
Cones stalked, cylindrical
Umbo terminal, unarmed
Needles 5, 2-4 in, stomate
lines on two sides of needles
White pine blister rust, fire
Typically montane in Calif.,
lower elev. in northern states
Geographic range of western white pine
Pinus monticola, Mt. Eddy, Klamath
Ranges; note ‘dinosaur feet.’
White pine blister rust, Cronartium ribicola
affects five-needle pines
Pinus aristata, Rocky Mtn bristlecone
P. longaeva, Great Basin bristlecone
• Cones short-stalked,
cylindric, 2-4”, scales
thick, with long stiff
prickle
• Needles 5, about 1”
• Very long-lived
(5100 years+)
Pinus torreyana, Torrey pine
Coastal San Diego Co, most
restricted range of any N
American pine; needles 6-12”,
in 5s, cones 4-6”, thick scales
with a straight prickle.
serotinous
Photos by Keir Morse
3-Needled Pines of California
knobcone pine Pinus attenuata
Coulter pine Pinus coulteri
Jeffreyi pine Pinus jeffreyi
ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa
Monterey pine Pinus radiata
ghost, gray, foothill pine Pinus sabiniana
Pinus ponderosa, ponderosa pine
Needles 3s, 4-7(11)” (raspy when pulled backward)
Cones 2-6”, prickly, umbo dorsal, with stout prickle pointed outward, ‘prickly ponderosa’
Drought resistant, Most important pine of N. America; more timber than any other pine
Pinus ponderosa biology
Adapted to a fire regime:
bark 3 inches thick;
likes mineral seedbed and
brush clearing of low level
fires (competing young firs
killed)
Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey pine,
Needles 5-10”, in 3s or 2s
and 3s, twisted
Needles smell of
pineapple to some people
Cones 5-10”, umbo
dorsal, prickle reflexed
(turned inward)—Gentle
Jeffrey
Both ponderosa pine and
Jeffrey pine have jigsaw
puzzle bark.
Pinus jeffreyi, Jeffrey pine
Pinus jeffreyi, Biology
“Diffuse mutualism with rodents and corvids”
Seeds have wings, but are heavy. Most fall within 100 ft. This pine needs the Steller’s jays, Clark’s nutcrackers, yellow pine chipmunk, etc. In one day these animals put most of the seeds in shallow soil caches of 1-5 seeds. That’s how Jeffrey pine reproduces.
Pinus flexilis, limber pine
• Cones short-stalked, ovoid, 3-6”;scales thickened, umbo terminal, unarmed
• Needles 5, 2-3”, clustered at twig tips, white lines on all surfaces
• Also a “bird pine”
Pinus flexilis, limber pine
In California, mostly east of Sierra Crest, at 3000 ft in the north, higher in south
Pinus flexilis, limber pine
• Evolved in Mexico under selection pressure from jays that harvested and cached the largest and least winged seeds!
• Moved north with climate change, and now spread by Clark’s nutcrackers
• “Timber pine” of the Great Basin (used to build Old West saloons, etc, in Nevada)
Pinus flexilis, limber pine
• Shade: intolerant
• Fire: moderately tolerant
• Tree looks like whitebark pine, but cones different; these two hybridize where their ranges overlap
• Food for wildlife, esp. Clark’s nutcracker
Pinus sabiniana,
gray, ghost, foothill pine
• Needles 6-13”, in 3s, gray-
green;
• cones 6-10”, heavy, scales
with irregular umbos, each
ending in a claw;
• Mature trees with split
leader
• Low fringe forests of CA,
susceptible to fire
Pinus sabiniana,
gray, ghost, foothill pine
Restricted to
interior California
foothills of
California
Floristic Province
Gray pine is highly flammable. The needles contain
ether extracts. It is a heavy resin producer, with the
wood, bark, cones, and needle sheaths all
containing pitch.
Gray pine has two adaptations which enable it to
survive fire. First, some large trees will withstand
moderate-severity fire. Mature trees with thick bark
and self-pruned trunks are best able to avoid fatal
scorching. Secondly, seed regeneration is favored
following fire. Fire creates a favorable bare mineral
soil seedbed, and heat scarification of the woody
seedcoat increases germination rates.
Pinus coulteri, Coulter pine
• Needles 6-12”, in 3s, blue-
green;
• cones 8-14 in, heaviest cone
in the world (4-6 lb), umbo
with large curved claw (bear
claw pine)
• Mountains of S. coastal CA;
some populations serotinous
Geographic range of Coulter pine
• Needles 6-12”, in 3s, blue-
green;
• cones 8-14 in, heaviest cone
in the world (4-6 lb), umbo
with large curved claw (bear
claw pine)
• Mountains of S. coastal CA;
some populations serotinous
Pinus radiata, Monterey pine
• Needles 4-6”, 3s or 2s, dark green
• cones 3-5”, asymmetrical, serotinus;
• coastal central CA in the fog belt; common decorative tree; widely planted and produces saw timber around the world
• Told from knobcone by smooth basal scales
Photo courtesy Rick
York and CNPS
Geographic range of Monterey pine
Photo courtesy of St. Mary’s
College of California
Pinus attenuata, knobcone pine
Cone serotinous,
similar to Monterey
pine, but basal
scales prickly
Pinus attenuata, knobcone pine
Cones are sealed with a hard resin that
requires high temperatures (average:
397 degrees Fahrenheit [203 deg C]) to
liquefy, boil, and vaporize. Cone scales
open gradually following heating. The
first seeds fall within 1 to 12 hours after
fire, when the ground has cooled. The
arched scales continue to slowly
expand and drop seed for at least 4
postfire years.
2-Needled Pines of California
lodgepole pine Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana
beach pine Pinus contorta ssp. contorta
Bishop pine Pinus muricata
Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana,
lodgepole pine
Cones small, 1-2”, egg-
shaped, serotinous &
persistent,
umbo with small slender
prickle
Needles in 2s, 1-3”, twisted,
yellow green to dark green
Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana,
lodgepole pine
Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana,
lodgepole pine
Pinyons of California
singleleaf pinyon Pinus monophylla
Parry pinyon Pinus quadrifolia
Pinyon pines, incl. Pinus monophylla,
single-leaf pinyon
Cone short-stalked, ovoid-globose, 1-3”, scales thick, umbo unarmed or small prickle,
Needles 1-5, 1-3”
Seed wingless, used for food, up to 20 lb per tree
Dry pinyon-juniper woodlands
Pinyon pines, incl. Pinus monophylla,
single-leaf pinyon
Kept Fremont’s party from starving
Feed corvids, rodents, bighorn sheep, bears
Used as charcoal to smelt ore; charcoal made in beehive ovens
Pinyon charcoal made in beehive
ovens