Pinus virginiana
Pinus torreyana
Jersey pine, scrub pine, Virginia pine
Del Mar pine, island Torrey pine, soledad pine, Torrey pine
gray-brown with irregular, scaly-plated ridges, on upper sections of trunk reddish, scaly.
red-brown to purple-red, deeply furrowed with irregular, elongate, flat, scaly ridges.
spreading-ascending to spreading-descending;
twigs slender, red- or purple-tinged, often glaucous, aging red-brown to gray, rough.
irregular, spreading-ascending, candelabralike;
twigs stout (1–2cm thick), greenish, aging deep gray-brown to near black, rough.
ovoid to cylindric, red-brown, 0.6–1cm, resinous or not resinous;
scale margins white-fringed.
conic-ovoid, pale brown, to 2.5cm;
scale margins white-fringed.
2 per fascicle, spreading or ascending, persisting 3–4 years, 2–8cm × 1–1.5mm, strongly twisted, deep to pale yellow-green, all surfaces with inconspicuous stomatal lines, margins serrulate, apex narrowly acute;
sheath 0.4–1cm, base persistent.
mostly 5 per fascicle, ascending or spreading, persisting 3–4 years, 15–30cm × ca. 2mm, straight or curved, slightly twisted, dull gray-green, all surfaces with fine stomatal lines, margins serrulate, apex abruptly acute;
sheath to 2cm, shed early, base persistent.
ellipsoid-cylindric, 10–20mm, red-brown or yellow.
ovoid, 20–30mm, yellow.
cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds soon thereafter, persisting to 5 years, symmetric, lance-ovoid or lanceoloid before opening, ovoid when open, 3–7(–8)cm, dull red-brown, nearly sessile or on stalks to 1cm, scales rigid, with strong purple-red or purple-brown border on adaxial surface distally;
apophyses slightly thickened, slightly elongate;
umbo central, low-pyramidal, with slender, stiff prickle.
cones maturing in 3 years, shedding seeds soon thereafter, persisting to 5 years, lateral, massive, heavy, symmetric, ovoid before opening, broadly ovoid when open, 10–15cm, yellow- to red-brown, lustrous, stalks to 4cm;
apophyses thick, angulately dome-shaped, with 5 low convergent keels;
umbo central, forming short, curved-tipped pyramid.
=24.
Pinus virginiana
Pinus torreyana
Pinus virginiana is weedy and fire successional and often forms large stands. It is mostly too small and too profusely branched to be valued except as pulpwood.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Pinus torreyana is a rare and local Tertiary relic species whose present range is reduced to two small areas of southern California: near Del Mar (San Diego County) and on the northeastern shore of Santa Rosa Island (Santa Barbara County). Its distribution in Oligocene and Miocene (or at least that of its near ancestor) extended north to Oregon. Its harsh natural habitat elicits an unusually contorted and often sparse form, quite unlike the cleaner and taller form the species takes in cultivation.
In terms of numbers of individuals in the wild, as well as the small area occupied by natural populations, Pinus torreyana is without a doubt the rarest North American pine. As such it is under protection. Artificial crosses between it and another, more widespread Tertiary relic, P. sabiniana, have been successful.
Subspecies 2.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Crown of sheltered tree narrower than height of mature tree, open with well-spaced branches in natural sites; seed cones less than 13.5 cm broad, as broad as long or longer; only tip of umbo curved outward; maximum seed width ca. 12 mm. | subsp. torreyana |
1. Crown of sheltered tree broader than height of mature tree, compact in natural sites; seed cones mostly more than 13.5 cm broad, broader than long; entire umbo curved outward; maximum seed width ca. 14 mm. | subsp. insularis |
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
