Pinus flexilis
Pinus muricata
limber pine, pin blanc de l'ouest
Bishop pine
gray, nearly smooth, cross-checked in age into scaly plates and ridges.
dark gray, deeply furrowed, ridges long, scaly-plated.
spreading to ascending, often persistent to trunk base;
twigs pale red-brown, puberulous (rarely glabrous), slightly resinous, aging gray, smooth.
spreading-ascending, often contorted;
twigs stout to slender, orange-brown, aging darker brown, rough.
ovoid, light red-brown, 0.9–1cm, resinous;
lower scales ciliolate along margins.
ovoid-cylindric, dark brown, 1–2.5cm, resinous.
5 per fascicle, spreading to upcurved and ascending, persisting 5–6 years, 3–7cm × 1–1.5mm, pliant, dark green, abaxial surface with less conspicuous stomatal bands than adaxial surfaces, adaxial surfaces with strong, pale stomatal bands, margins finely serrulate, apex conic-acute to acuminate;
sheath 1–1.5(–2)cm, shed early.
2 per fascicle, spreading to upcurved, persisting 2–3 years, 8–15cm × (1.2–)1.5(–2)mm, slightly twisted, dark yellow-green, all surfaces with stomatal lines, margins strongly serrulate, apex abruptly conic-acute;
sheath to 1.5cm, base persistent.
broadly ellipsoid-cylindric, ca. 15mm, pale red or yellow.
ellipsoid, to 5mm, orange.
cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, spreading, symmetric, lance-ovoid before opening, cylindro-ovoid when open, 7–15cm, straw-colored, resinous, sessile to short-stalked, apophyses much thickened, strongly cross-keeled, umbo terminal, depressed.
cones maturing in 3 years, serotinous, long-persistent, mostly in whorls, mostly asymmetric, lanceoloid-ovoid before opening, curved-ovoid when open, 4–9cm, glossy bright to pale red-brown, sessile or on stalks to 1cm, mostly downcurved, scales with deep red-brown border distally on adaxial surface;
apophyses much thickened, the abaxial ones progressively more angulately dome-shaped toward base of cone;
umbo central, a stout-based, curved claw.
=24.
=24.
Pinus flexilis
Pinus muricata
Pinus flexilis, much branched with a strongly tapering trunk, is little utilized because of its form and relative inaccessibility. It reportedly forms intermediates with P. strobiformis where the two overlap. The fresh-cut wood has the odor of turpentine.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The several varieties described for Pinus muricata reflect the high variability in leaf characters and in degree of elaboration of apophysis and umbo in this species. The extremes can sometimes occur together.
Of conservation concern.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
SW CO Wildflowers
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
