Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine
Pinus aristata
Pine family (Pinaceae)

This is thought to produce the oldest trees, several having been dated to around 5,000 years. Pinus aristata likes exposed areas on dry rocky soils and in this environment it often is swept by the wind and frost into exotic shapes.


©2008 Hans G. Oberlack

Description

Tree from 15 to 45 feet tall with a dense , reduced to dense bushy or shrub-like tree at high altitudes. Thin bark, gray-white at first, becoming red-brown with shallow furrows and ridges on mature trunks. Leaves one to almost two inches long in bundles of 5s, dark green, stout and curved, long-, usually showing conspicuous resin, sticky to the touch. Male flowers orange-red, female cones short- prickled -tipped. Seeds about 1/5 inch long, with .

Field Marks

Needles in bundles of 5, thin bark, tree twisted and dwarfed in high exposed areas.

© Al Schneider

persistent -- When the leaves of a plant fail to fall off in the fall they are persistent. Flowers that stay around after fruiting would be persistent.

stalk -- The supporting structure of an organ. Examples of stalks are stem, peduncle, petiole, ...

bristle -- A straight, stiff hair.

canopy -- The foliage of a tree; the crown. Also the upper layer of a forest.

genus -- A subdivision of a botanical Family in which all members have a significant number of similar characteristics.

wing -- A maple seed has wings.