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Coulter pine

 
Dictionary: Coul·ter pine   (kōl'tər) pronunciation
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Coulter pine
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Coulter pine


(Wendy Smith)

n.
A pine tree (Pinus coulteri) native to California and Baja California, having bluish-green needles in bundles of three and bearing sharp-scaled cones that are the heaviest of all pines.

[After Thomas Coulter (1793-1843), Irish botanist.]


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Wikipedia: Coulter Pine
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Coulter Pine

A Coulter Pine seed cone in Mount Wilson (California).
Conservation status
LR/lc (IUCN2.3[1])
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: Pinus
Species: P. coulteri
Binomial name
Pinus coulteri
D. Don

The Coulter Pine or Big-cone Pine (Pinus coulteri) is a native of the coastal mountains of southern California (United States) and northern Baja California (Mexico). Isolated groves are found as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area in Mt. Diablo State Park and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. The species is named after Thomas Coulter, an Irish botanist and physician.

The size ranges from 10-24 m (30-80 ft) tall,[2] and a trunk diameter up to 1 m (3 ft). The trunk is vertical and branches horizontal to upcurved. The leaves are needle-like, in bundles of three, glaucous gray-green, 15-30 cm (6-12 in) long and stout, 2 mm (0.01 in) thick. The outstanding characteristic of this tree is the large, spiny cones which are 20-40 cm (8-16 in) long, and weigh 2-5 kg (4-10 lbs) when fresh. Coulter Pines produce the largest cones of any pine tree species (people are actually advised to wear hardhats when working in Coulter Pine groves), although the slender cones of the sugar pine are longer. The large size of the cones has earned them the nickname "widowmakers" among locals. The wood is weak and soft, so that the species is little used other than for firewood. It is also occasionally planted as an ornamental tree in parks and large gardens.

Contents

Ecology

This erect, medium-sized pine prefers south-facing slopes between 200-2300 m (600-7500 ft) elevation, and tolerates dry rocky soil. Pinus coulteri most often appears in mixed forests. The Coulter Pine occurs in a number of forest plant associations; for example, At higher elevations forestation of the San Jacinto Mountains Coulter Pine is co-dominant with the California Black Oak.[3] Woodpeckers often forage on the species, and peel the bark to access insects underneath.[4]

References

Line notes

  1. ^ Conifer Specialist Group, 1998
  2. ^ Gymnosperm Database, 2008
  3. ^ C. Michael Hogan, 2008
  4. ^ Moore, Gerry; Kershner, Bruce; Craig Tufts; Daniel Mathews; Gil Nelson; Spellenberg, Richard; Thieret, John W.; Terry Purinton; Block, Andrew (2008). National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. New York: Sterling. p. 86. ISBN 1-4027-3875-7. 

Additional photos

Pollen cones

Bark close-up

Foliage and cones

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Coulter Pine".  Read more