Limber Pine
Pinus flexilis
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; like sugar pinecone 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.
Photo: © Colin Barrows