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Bishop pine

sugar pine

Habit Trees to 24m; trunk to 0.9m diam., straight to contorted; crown becoming rounded, flattened, or irregular. Trees to 75m; trunk to 3.3m diam., massive, straight; crown narrowly conic, becoming rounded.
Bark

dark gray, deeply furrowed, ridges long, scaly-plated.

cinnamon- to gray-brown, deeply furrowed, plates long, scaly.

Branches

spreading-ascending, often contorted;

twigs stout to slender, orange-brown, aging darker brown, rough.

spreading, distal branches ascending;

twigs gray-green to red-tan, aging gray, mostly puberulent.

Buds

ovoid-cylindric, dark brown, 1–2.5cm, resinous.

cylindro-ovoid, red-brown, to 0.8cm, resinous.

Leaves

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.

5 per fascicle, spreading to ascending, persisting 2–4 years, 5–10cm × (0.9–)1–1.5(–2)mm, straight, slightly twisted, pliant, blue-green, abaxial surface with only a few lines evident, adaxial surfaces with evident white stomatal lines, margins finely serrulate, apex acuminate;

sheath (1–)1.5–2cm, shed early.

Pollen cones

ellipsoid, to 5mm, orange.

ellipsoid-cylindric, to 15mm, yellow.

Seed(s)

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.

cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, often clustered, pendent, symmetric, cylindric before opening, lance-cylindric to ellipsoid-cylindric when open, 25–50cm, yellow-brown, stalks 6–15cm;

apophyses somewhat thickened;

umbo terminal, depressed, resinous, slightly excurved.

2n

=24.

=24.

Pinus muricata

Pinus lambertiana

Habitat Dry ridges to coastal, windshorn forests, often in or around bogs Montane dry to moist forests
Elevation 0–300m (0–1000ft) 330–3200m (1100–10500ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico in Baja California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR; Mexico in n Baja California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

The largest species of the genus, Pinus lambertiana also has the longest seed cone in the genus. It is an important timber tree with harvest far exceeding regrowth. It is easily distinguished from P. monticola and P. strobus by its larger cones and thicker cone scales with larger seeds; it is somewhat less reliably distinguished by its leaves, which are slightly wider and more tapering-tipped and have some stomatal lines evident on the abaxial surfaces (the lines not evident in P. monticola and P. strobus). A "sugary" resin high in cyclitols exudes from the sweet-scented fresh-cut wood.

(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. flexilis, P. glabra, P. jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. monticola, 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. 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
Synonyms P. muricata var. borealis, P. muricata var. cedrosensis, P. muricata var. stantonii, P. radiata var. binata, P. remorata
Name authority D. Don: Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 17: 441. (1836) Douglas: Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 15: 500. (1827)
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