Lodgepole Pine
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 Pinus contorta subsp. contorta in Anacortes Community Forest Lands, Washington
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| Pinus contorta Douglas |
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) is a common tree in western North America. Like all pines, it is evergreen.
There are three subspecies, one of them with two varieties. All the four taxa are sometimes treated at the rank of variety[2][3].
- Pinus contorta subsp. contorta (Shore Pine) - Pacific Coast, southern Alaska to California
- Pinus contorta subsp. contorta var. contorta (syn. P. contorta var. contorta, Shore Pine) - Pacific Coast, Alaska to northwest California
- Pinus contorta subsp. contorta var. bolanderi (syn. P. contorta var. bolanderi, Mendocino Shore Pine) - Mendocino, California Coast (Near Threatened by fires, development and overland vehicles.[4])
- Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana (syn. P. contorta var. murrayana, Tamarack Pine or Sierra Lodgepole Pine) - Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and adjacent mountain ranges, Washington south to northern Baja California
- Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia (syn. P. contorta var. latifolia, Lodgepole Pine) - Rocky Mountains, Yukon to Colorado, Saskatchewan Aspen parkland and boreal forest.[5]
This tree can be 30-40 m tall, but is often much smaller, particularly subsp. contorta, while subsp. murrayana can be larger, to 50 m. The leaves are needle-like, paired and often twisted, and 3-7 cm long. The 3-7 cm cones often need exposure to high temperatures (such as from forest fires) in order to open and release their seeds, though in subsp. murrayana they open as soon as they are mature. The cones have prickles on the scales.
It is occasionally known under several English names: Black Pine, Scrub Pine, and Coast Pine. The species name contorta arises from the twisted, bent pines found in the coastal area.
Lodgepole Pine is the Provincial tree of Alberta, Canada. Lodgepole Pine will hybridise with the closely related Jack Pine.
Pinus contorta is a serious invasive plant in New Zealand.
- ^ Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus contorta. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- ^ Flora of North America
- ^ GRIN Taxonomy for Plants
- ^ Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus contorta var. bolanderi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- ^ Johnson, Kershaw, MacKinnon, Pojar (1995), Plants of the Western Boreal Forest and Aspen Parkland, Edmonton AB: Lonepine publishing, p. 27
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Pinus contorta subsp. contorta
Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia
Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana
