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limber pine, pin blanc de l'ouest

eastern white pine, northern white pine, pin blanc, soft pine, Weymouth pine, white pine

Habit Trees to 26m; trunk to 2m diam., straight to contorted; crown conic, becoming rounded. Trees to 67m; trunk to 1.8m diam., straight; crown conic, becoming rounded to flattened.
Bark

gray, nearly smooth, cross-checked in age into scaly plates and ridges.

gray-brown, deeply furrowed, with long, irregularly rectangular, scaly plates.

Branches

spreading to ascending, often persistent to trunk base;

twigs pale red-brown, puberulous (rarely glabrous), slightly resinous, aging gray, smooth.

whorled, spreading-upswept;

twigs slender, pale red-brown, glabrous or pale puberulent, aging gray, ±smooth.

Buds

ovoid, light red-brown, 0.9–1cm, resinous;

lower scales ciliolate along margins.

ovoid-cylindric, light red-brown, 0.4–0.5cm, slightly resinous.

Leaves

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.

5 per fascicle, spreading to ascending, persisting 2–3 years, 6–10cm × 0.7–1mm, straight, slightly twisted, pliant, deep green to blue-green, pale stomatal lines evident only on adaxial surfaces, margins finely serrulate, apex abruptly acute to short-acuminate;

sheath 1–1.5cm, shed early.

Pollen cones

broadly ellipsoid-cylindric, ca. 15mm, pale red or yellow.

ellipsoid, 10–15mm, yellow.

Seed(s)

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 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, clustered, pendent, symmetric, cylindric to lance-cylindric or ellipsoid-cylindric before opening, ellipsoid-cylindric to cylindric or lance-cylindric when open, (7–)8–20cm, gray-brown to pale brown, with purple or gray tints, stalks 2–3cm;

apophyses slightly raised, resinous at tip;

umbo terminal, low.

2n

=24.

=24.

Pinus flexilis

Pinus strobus

Habitat High montane forests, often at timberline Mesic to dry sites
Elevation (1000–)1500–3600m ((3300–)4900–11800ft) 0–1500m (0–4900ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; ND; NE; NM; NV; OR; SD; UT; WY; AB; BC
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from FNA
CT; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SPM; Mexico; Central America in Guatemala
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Discussion

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.)

Pinus strobus is an important timber tree; because of extensive lumbering, few uncut stands remain. It was once prized as a source for ship masts, and large tracts of it were reserved for the Royal Navy during colonial times.

Pinus strobus var. chiapensis appears to be as Martínez saw it: a clinal variant that, compared to the type variety, has finer leaves, different resin canal distribution, and heavier cones when cones of similar sizes are compared.

Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is the provincial tree of Ontario and the state tree of Maine and Michigan.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Pinus Pinaceae > Pinus
Sibling taxa
P. albicaulis, P. aristata, P. attenuata, P. balfouriana, P. banksiana, P. cembroides, P. clausa, P. contorta, P. coulteri, P. echinata, P. edulis, P. elliottii, P. engelmannii, P. glabra, P. jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. monticola, P. muricata, P. palustris, P. ponderosa, P. pungens, P. quadrifolia, P. radiata, P. resinosa, P. rigida, P. sabiniana, P. serotina, P. strobiformis, P. strobus, P. sylvestris, P. taeda, P. torreyana, P. virginiana, P. washoensis
P. albicaulis, P. aristata, P. attenuata, P. balfouriana, P. banksiana, P. cembroides, P. clausa, P. contorta, P. coulteri, P. echinata, P. edulis, P. elliottii, P. engelmannii, P. flexilis, P. glabra, P. jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. monticola, P. muricata, P. palustris, P. ponderosa, P. pungens, P. quadrifolia, P. radiata, P. resinosa, P. rigida, P. sabiniana, P. serotina, P. strobiformis, P. sylvestris, P. taeda, P. torreyana, P. virginiana, P. washoensis
Synonyms Apinus flexilis P. chiapensis, P. strobus var. chiapensis, Strobus strobus
Name authority E. James: Account Exped. Pittsburgh 2: 27, 35. (1823) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1001. (1753)
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