Description
The Jeffrey Pine is a large coniferous evergreen tree, reaching 25 to 40 m (82 to 130 ft) tall, rarely up to 53 m (174 ft) tall, though smaller when growing at or near tree line. The leaves are needle-like, in bundles of three, stout, glaucous gray-green, 12 to 23 cm (4.7 to 9.1 in) long. The cones are 12 to 24 cm (4.7 to 9.4 in) long, dark purple when immature, ripening pale brown, with thinly woody scales bearing a short, sharp inward-pointing barb. The seeds are 10 to 12 mm (0.39 to 0.47 in) long, with a large (15 to 25 mm (0.59 to 0.98 in)) wing.
The Jeffrey Pine may be distinguished from the closely related Ponderosa Pine by the needles (image at left), which are glaucous, less bright green than those of Ponderosa Pine, and by the stouter, heavier cones with larger seeds and inward-pointing barbs (see image lower left). Jeffrey Pine is also very distinct from Ponderosa Pine in its resin scent, variously described as reminiscent of vanilla, lemon, pineapple, violets, apple; and, quite commonly, butterscotch; compared to the turpentine or odorless scent of Ponderosa Pine. This may be tested by breaking a small shoot or some needles, or by sampling the scent of the resin in between the plates of the bark. This difference in scent is related to the very unusual composition of the resin, with the volatile component made up almost entirely of pure n-heptane. Jeffrey Pine can be distinguished from Ponderosa Pine by the smaller scales of bark as compared to the larger plates of more reddish-colored Ponderosa bark.
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