Coulter pine

The Coulter pine or big-cone pine, Pinus coulteri, is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California 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.

Coulter pine
Pinus coulteri
A Pinus coulteri seed cone at Mount Wilson, .

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: P. subg. Pinus
Section: P. sect. Trifoliae
Subsection: P. subsect. Ponderosae
Species:
P. coulteri
Binomial name
Pinus coulteri
D. Don
Natural range

The Coulter pine produces the heaviest cone of any pine tree. Although it has a limited range in the wild, it is a popular ornamental tree.

Description

Pinus coulteri is a substantial coniferous evergreen tree in the genus Pinus. The size ranges from 10–24 m (33–79 ft) tall,[2] and a trunk diameter up to 1 m (3.3 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 (5.9–11.8 in) long and stout, 2 mm (0.079 in) thick.

The outstanding characteristic of this tree is the large, spiny cones which are 20–40 cm (7.9–15.7 in) long, and weigh 2–5 kg (4.4–11.0 lb) 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.

Ecology

The Coulter pine is closely related to the foothill pine, Pinus sabiniana. It is more distantly related to Jeffrey pine with which it shares habitats, and the ponderosa pine.[3] Coulter pines tend to grow in drier environments than ponderosa and Jeffery pines.

This erect, medium-sized pine prefers south-facing slopes between 200–2,300 m (660–7,550 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.[4] Woodpeckers often forage on the species, and peel the bark to access insects underneath.[5]

Uses

Wildlife, especially squirrels, gather the large seeds. They were also once eaten by Native Americans.[6]

The wood is weak and soft, so that the species is little used other than for firewood.

Pinus coulteri is cultivated as an ornamental tree, planted in parks and large gardens, and drought tolerant landscaping. The Coulter pine has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[7]

  • Pollen cones
  • Bark close-up
  • Foliage and cones
  • Large cone, found at 4,150 ft elevation in the Santa Lucia Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest, California Coastal Range of the Central Coast.
  • Cone
  • Seed
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References
  1. Farjon 2013.
  2. Gymnosperm Database.
  3. Cope 1993.
  4. Hogan 2008.
  5. NWF Field Guide.
  6. Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p. 410. ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
  7. RHS Gardening.

Bibliography
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