Since my first two blogs were on subjects that I found
important and misunderstood, I decided to switch keys and talk about a really
cool Western tree, the Ponderosa pine!
Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is one of the most widely
distributed pines in North America. There are two varieties of the species that
are currently recognized, the Pacific ponderosa pine and Rocky Mountain
ponderosa pine. Guess which one Colorado has.
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| The young pines have dark bark, whereas the older mature pines have a reddish bark |
WHERE CAN IT BE FOUND:
From 5600ft to 9500ft in elevation, sometimes lower. They
tend to be found in nutrient poor soils, sometimes they are also found with
Douglas-fir, Rocky Mountain Juniper or spruce. They can be found from British
Columbia to Mexico.
FUN FACTS:
- They can reach a height of over 100 feet
- The tallest is in Oregon, and reached a height of 268 feet making it the world's tallest pine!
- The bark of older trees changes color, from a grayish black to a red color
- The bark can often smell like vanilla or butterscotch
- Ponderosa pine has a very high commercial value and is used to make a lot of different things, from doors to window frames.
- Ponderosa pine is monoecious; it has both male and female parts
IDENTIFICATION:
The unique bark is a great indicator, and as the trees get
older the scales become more like large scaly plates. The bark is 3 inches
thick and this protects it from forest fires.
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| The mature reddish scaly bark of ponderosa pine |
Needles will be in clumps of three, and the female cones are
large, woody and with small hooks on each scale
PONDEROSA PINE AND THE ABERT’S SQUIRREL
The tufted eared Abert’s squirrel is dependent on the
ponderosa pine for food and shelter, and can almost only be found on Ponderosa
pine forests.
SOURCES:
Colorado State University
http://csfs.colostate.edu/pages/major-tree-species.html
Rocky Mountain National Park
http://www.nps.gov/romo/naturescience/conifers.htm
USDA Forest Service
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