Knobcone Pine
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| iKnobcone Pine | ||||||||||||||||
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| Pinus attenuata Lemmon |
The Knobcone Pine (Pinus attenuata) is a tree that grows in mild climates on poor soils. It ranges from the mountains of southern Oregon to Baja California Norte with the greatest concentration in northern California and the Oregon-California border. This pine reaches heights of 8-24 m; however, it can be a shrub on especially poor sites. It prefers dry rocky mountain soils.
The crown is usually conical with a straight trunk. The bark is smooth, flaky and gray-brown when young, becoming dark gray-red-brown and shallowly furrowed into flat scaly ridges. The twigs are red-brown and often resinous.
The leaves are in fascicles of three, needle-like, yellow-green, twisted, and 9-15 cm long. The cones are 8-16 cm long and clustered in whorls of 3 to 6 on the branches. The scales end in a short stout prickle. The cones remain closed for many years until a fire opens them and allows reseeding. As a result, the cones may even become embedded in the trunk as the tree grows.
Knobcone Pine forms nearly pure stands and may hybridize with Bishop Pine and Monterey Pine.
[edit] References
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus attenuata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
