Limber Pine

Pinus flexilis

Photoe: 2009 Ryan Gilmore (Calphotos)

Family:

Pine (Pinaceae)

Size:

Small, 30' – 50', 15" – 24" diameter; max. 85' by 7'

Age:

Slow grower, matures 200-300 years

Bark:

Smooth silvery white to light gray or greenish gray on young stems; old trunks dark brown to nearly black with deep fissures, scaly plates

Needles:

In 5's, about 2 ½"; clustered near the branch ends; dark green, stout, rigid

Cones:

3"-10" long, cylindrical; scales thickened; similar to sugar pine cone but small, lighter in color

Elevation:

8000' – 11,800' in southern CA

Comments:

First observed by Dr. Edwin James, an army surgeon, near Pike’s Peak, CO, in 1820. Generally, a high altitude tree of importance in protecting watersheds. A short, stout tree with plume-like, drooping branches which often touch the ground. Grows in dry, rocky, shallow or gravelly soils. Found on windblown ridges “hugging” the rocks.