California Native Pine Trees, Pinus

Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri)
Common names: California Coulter
Pine, Big-Cone Pine, Nut Pine...
Height: 40-80 feet
Diameter: 1-3 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant: low
Annual rainfall: 35-60
Soil Needs: deep, acidic, well-draining
Frost Free Days: 220
Minimum Temperature (F): 12
Growth Rate: Slow
State List: CA
...more

Also known as the California Coulter Pine, Big-cone Pine, Nut Pine, and Pitch Pine, is native to California. It is a slow growing species, reaching only 20 feet in 20 years. In optimal sites, it can grow as tall as 80 feet with a trunk diameter of 1-3 feet. Root depth is about 40 inches. The bark is greyon young trees, becoming dark purplish-brown or black with thick, scaly, ...more

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Foxtail Pine (Pinus balfouriana Balf.)
Common names: Southern Foxtail
Pine, Northern Foxtail Pine, Sierra...
Height: 20-50 ft, champion 76 ft
Diameter: 1-2 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant:
Annual rainfall:
Soil Needs: well-draining, infertile...
Frost Free Days:
Minimum Temperature (F):
Growth Rate: slow
Longevity:
State List: CA ... more

RARE
The champion Foxtail Pine in the Trinity National Forest is 76 feet tall, but the typical height is between 20-50 feet and 1-2 feet in diameter. It is a slow growing tree. The reddish-brown bark is furrowed and vertically ridged. Twigs are red-brown when young, turning yellowish-gray when mature. It's needles are short, only 1-2 ...more

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Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf)
PROTECTED SPECIES IN NV
Height: 180-200 ft
Diameter: 4-6 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant: medium
Annual rainfall: 20-80
Soil Needs: infertile, shallow, rocky..
Frost Free Days: 120
Minimum Temperature (F): -38
Growth Rate: rapid
State List: CA, NV, OR
...more

Discovered in 1852 by Scottish botanist John Jeffrey, the Jeffrey Pine is a towering tree 180-200 feet in height. No less impressive, its diameter is usually between 4-6 feet. The largest known specimen has a trunk diameter of 7.5 feet. The oldest known Jeffrey Pine is 631 years old and average life expectancy is between 400-500 years. Pinus jeffreyi is a fast growing tree, ...more

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Pine Trees of California

Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)
Common names: Western Yellow Pine
Bull Pine, Silver Pine, Yosemite Pine..
Height: 150-223 ft
Diameter: 4 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant:
Annual rainfall: 15-25
Soil Needs: moist, pH 5.0-9.0
Frost Free Days: 150
Minimum Temperature (F): -36
Growth Rate: moderate
State List: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND,
NE, NV... ...more

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Pinus ponderosa cones, nestled in a thick tuft of needles, hang from branches in bundles of 3.

Small brown single winged Pinus ponderosa seeds

Ponderosa pines are towering trees, regularly hitting the record books and recenty taking the title of tallest pine in the world at a staggering 268.35 feet tall. Height ranges between 150-223 usually, but great heights have been recorded at optimum sites. Trunk diameter is typically no larger than 4 feet. Ponderosa pines have a single trunk with rough ...more

Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana Douglas.)
PROTECTED SPECIES IN NV
Height: 175-200 ft occasionally 240
Diameter: 3-5 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant: medium
Annual rainfall: 25-90
Soil Needs: moist, acidic, well-draining
Frost Free Days: 150
Minimum Temperature (F): -28
Growth Rate: rapid
State List: CA, NV, OR,
...more

The Sugar Pine is a large pine, surpassed only by the Ponderosa Pine, native to the western United States. Typically, it reaches heights between 175-200 feet but can grow as tall as 240. Equally impressive for a pine, the trunk diameter is between 3-5 feet. It is a rapidly growing tree, attaining 40 feet in just 20 years. The growing season encompasses spring, summer and fall ...more

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Washoe Pine Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. washoensis
Common names: Yellow Pine
Height: 115-130 ft
Diameter: 5 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant: medium
Annual rainfall: 25-90
Soil Needs: moist, acidic, well-draining
Frost Free Days: 150
Minimum Temperature (F): -28
Growth Rate:
State List: CA, NV, OR,
...more

RARE
The Washoe pine tree is a rare native conifer found only in California, Oregon and Nevada. It looks similar to Jeffrey and Ponderosa pine, so much so it is sometimes actually classified as a Ponderosa pine subspecies (see synonyms above). Pinus washoensis is a large tree, reaching 5 feet in diameter and 130 feet in height. It is also a long ...more

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Pinus albicaulis is a native conifer found in the western United States and Canada and is the only stone pine native to North America. Extremely long lived and slow growing, Whitebark pine takes 200 years to reach maturity and may live to 500 years. In 20 years, this tree species averages 15 feet tall, eventually growing to 70 feet, usually less, with a trunk diameter of 1 to 2 feet. ...more

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male catkins of Pinus albicaulis are at the terminal ends of branches

Pinus albicaulis seeds are hard, round and without a wing

Young Pinus albicaulis have silvery bark

White Bark Pine (Pinus albicaulis Engelm.)
PROTECTED SPECIES IN NV
Height: 50-70 ft
Diameter: 1-2 ft
Showy flower: no
Fall colors: no-evergreen
Drought tolerant: highly
Annual rainfall: 18-72
Soil Needs: moist, rocky, well-draining
Frost Free Days: 90
Minimum Temperature (F): -58
Growth Rate: very slow
State List: CA, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA,
WY Canada: AB, BC ...more

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California

The Golden State, 'Eureka! (I have found it!)'

The state distribution maps in the species info boxes below are from the USDA NRCS PLANTS Database at plants.usda.gov. In instances where state specific maps are unavailable, the US distribution map will be used in its place. Also, the PLANTS Database website states "Our county data are based primarily
on the literature, herbarium specimens, and confirmed

observations. However, not all populations have been documented, so some gaps in the distribution shown above may not be real. Remember that only native and naturalized populations are mapped!"

Pine trees are one of the most varied and widely spread genus of native tree species in North America. From the cold mountains of Alaska to Nova Scotia in the east, from high wind-swept Rocky Mountain cliffs to the fertile Appalachian forests, on seaside borders, swamps, dry foothills, lowlands and everywhere in between, pine trees can be found. Adapted to so many environments, pine trees are hardy survivors in their native habitat. The pine trees of North America were used by Native Americans for treatments of respiratory ailments, in canoe building and even as food. Today native pines are one of the most valuable commercial timber sources and continue to be used for construction, furniture, pulpwood, land management and more.