Lodgepole Pine

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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:

Pinus contorta subsp. contorta (Shore Pine) - Pacific Coast, southern Alaska to California
*Pinus contorta subsp. contorta var. contorta (Shore Pine) - Pacific Coast, Alaska to northwest California
*Pinus contorta subsp. contorta var. bolanderi (Mendocino Shore Pine) - Mendocino, California Coast
Pinus contorta subsp. 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 (Lodgepole Pine) - Rocky Mountains, Yukon to Colorado

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.

Pinus contorta is a serious invasive plant in New Zealand.

References

Conifer Specialist Group (1998). [Pinus contorta]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[Special]

Distribution map:
Pinus contorta subsp. contorta
Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia
Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana

[Lodgepole Pine at bcadventure.com]
[Lodgepole pine at Domtar Forestry corporate web site]
[Lodgepole forest page at University of Wisconsin] - good pictures
[Lodgepole pine at Virginia Tech dendrology site] - good pictures

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