Western White Pine
| Western white pine Pinus monticola |
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| Western white pine (center) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Pinus |
| Subgenus: | Strobus |
| Species: | P. monticola |
| Binomial name | |
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Pinus monticola Douglas ex D. Don |
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Western white pine (Pinus monticola) also called silver pine, and California mountain pine, in the family Pinaceae, is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Range, and the northern Rocky Mountains. The tree extends down to sea level in many areas, particularly in Oregon and Washington. It is the state tree of Idaho, and is sometimes known as the Idaho pine.
Western white pine (Pinus monticola) is a large tree, regularly growing to 30–50 metres (98–164 ft) and exceptionally up to 70 metres (230 ft) tall. It is a member of the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. The needles are finely serrated, and 5–13 centimetres (2.0–5.1 in) long. The cones are long and slender, 12–32 centimetres (4.7–12.6 in) long and 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 in) broad (closed), opening to 5–8 centimetres (2.0–3.1 in) broad; the scales are thin and flexible. The seeds are small, 4–7 mm long, and have a long slender wing 15–22 mm long.
It is related to the Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), differing from it in having larger cones, slightly longer-lasting leaves (2–3 years, rather than 1.5–2 years) with more prominent stomatal bands, and a somewhat denser and narrower habit. The branches are borne in regular whorls, produced at the rate of one a year; this is pronounced in narrow, stand-grown trees, while open specimens may have a more rounded form with wide-reaching limbs. It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, but has been heavily logged throughout much of its range in the past.
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Wikipedia