lodgepole pine

Lodgepole Pine
Pinus contorta subsp. contorta in Anacortes Community Forest Lands, Washington
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Pinus
Subgenus:	Pinus
Species:	P. contorta
Binomial name
Pinus contorta Douglas

Distribution map:
Pinus contorta subsp. contorta
Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia
Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana

Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) is a common tree in western North America.^[2] Like all pines, it is evergreen.

There are three subspecies, one of them with two varieties. All the four taxa are sometimes treated at the rank of variety^[3][4].

• Pinus contorta subsp. contorta (Shore Pine) - Pacific Coast, southern Alaska to California
  • Pinus contorta subsp. contorta var. contorta (syn. P. contorta var. contorta, Shore Pine) - Pacific Coast, Alaska to northwest California
  • Pinus contorta subsp. contorta var. bolanderi (syn. P. contorta var. bolanderi, Mendocino Shore Pine) - Mendocino, California Coast (Near Threatened by fires, development and overland vehicles.^[5])
• Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana (syn. P. contorta var. murrayana, Tamarack Pine or Sierra Lodgepole Pine) - Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada and adjacent mountain ranges, Washington south to northern Baja California
• Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia (syn. P. contorta var. latifolia, Lodgepole Pine) - Rocky Mountains, Yukon to Colorado, Saskatchewan Aspen parkland and boreal forest.^[6]

This tree can be 30-40 m tall, but is often much smaller, particularly subsp. contorta, while subsp. murrayana can be larger, to 50 m. The leaves are needle-like, paired and often twisted, and 3-7 cm long. The 3-7 cm cones often need exposure to high temperatures (such as from forest fires) in order to open and release their seeds, though in subsp. murrayana they open as soon as they are mature. The cones have prickles on the scales.

Lodgepole pine is named for its common use in the American Indian tepee lodge. A typical tepee is constructed with 15-18 lodgepole pines. The long, straight, and lightweight characteristics of the species made it ideal for horse transport in nomadic buffalo hunting cultures. Tribes made long journeys across the plains to secure lodgepole pines that only grew in mountainous areas. In Minnesota, other species such as red pine would be used in tepees, though they were generally thicker, heavier, and more cumbersone to transport than lodgepole pine. Many people still use lodgepole pine today for erecting tepees at private homes, on Indian Reservations, or powwows. The pines may be harvested for tepee poles on National Forests, provided the harvester secures a permit to cut lives trees for ceremonial or traditional purposes. The Bighorn Mountains, the Black Hills, and the Snowy Range of Wyoming are popular tepee pole harvesting areas for tepee enthusiasts and American Indians living on plains reservations in North and South Dakota.

It is occasionally known under several English names: Black Pine, Scrub Pine, and Coast Pine. The species name contorta arises from the twisted, bent pines found in the coastal area.

Lodgepole Pine is the Provincial tree of Alberta, Canada. Lodgepole Pine will hybridise with the closely related Jack Pine.

Pinus contorta is a serious invasive plant in New Zealand. The species has also been planted extensively in Norway and Sweden for use in forestry.

Pollen cones in Mount San Antonio.

Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia, near Mount Baker, Washington.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pinus contorta

• Lodgepole Pine at bcadventure.com
• Lodgepole pine at Domtar Forestry corporate web site
• Lodgepole forest page at University of Wisconsin
• Lodgepole pine at Virginia Tech dendrology site
• Beetle threat to Colorado's Lodgepole pines
• USDA FS: Silvics of Trees of North America: Pinus contorta