Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Pinus balfouriana

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Kingdom
  
Order
  
Genus
  
Pinus

Scientific name
  
Pinus balfouriana

Rank
  
Species

Division
  
Pinophyta

Family
  
Subgenus
  
Strobus

Higher classification
  
Pine

Pinus balfouriana Pinus balfouriana foxtail pine description The Gymnosperm Database

Similar
  
Pine, Pinus aristata, Pinus longaeva, Conifers, Pinus flexilis

Pinus balfouriana (foxtail pine) is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection Balfourianae. The two disjunct populations are found in the southern Klamath Mountains (subspecies balfouriana) and the southern Sierra Nevada (subspecies austrina). A small outlying population was reported in southern Oregon, but was proven to have been misidentified.

Contents

Pinus balfouriana CalPhotos Pinus balfouriana ssp balfouriana

Description

Pinus balfouriana httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

P. balfouriana is a tree to 10–20 m (30–70 ft) tall, exceptionally 35 m (115 ft), with a trunk up to 2 m (7 ft) across. Its leaves are needle-like, in bundles of five (or sometimes four, in the southern Sierra) with a semi-persistent basal sheath, and 2–4 cm (1–1 12 in) long, deep glossy green on the outer face, and white on the inner faces; they persist for 10–15 years. The cones are 6–11 cm (2 124 12 in) long, dark purple ripening red-brown, with soft, flexible scales each with a 1-millimeter (116-inch) central prickle.

Distribution

Pinus balfouriana PaylPinus balfouriana cwsteedsjpg Wikipedia

P. balfouriana occurs in the subalpine forest at an elevation of 1,950–2,750 m (6,400–9,020 ft) in the Klamath Mountains, and at 2,300–3,500 m (7,500–11,500 ft) in the Sierra Nevada. In the Sierra Nevada, Foxtail pines are limited to the area around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In both areas, it is often a tree line species.

Age

Pinus balfouriana Pinus balfouriana foxtail pine description The Gymnosperm Database

It is thought that P. balfouriana can live up to 3000 years in the Sierra Nevada, although the highest currently proven age is 2110 years. In the Klamath Mountains, ages are only known to about 1000 years.

Pinus balfouriana FilePinus balfouriana oldtree1jpg Wikimedia Commons

P. balfouriana is closely related to the bristlecone pines, being classified in the same subsection Balfourianae; it has been hybridised with the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine in cultivation, though no hybrids have ever been found in the wild.

Pinus balfouriana Pinus balfouriana Wikimedia Commons

Pinus balfouriana Pinus balfouriana Foxtail pine

Pinus balfouriana Pinus balfouriana Wikimedia Commons

References

Pinus balfouriana Wikipedia


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