Description
Western White Pine (Pinus monticola) is a large tree, regularly growing to 30-50 m and exceptionally up to 70 m tall. It is a member of the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. The needles are finely serrated, and 5-13 cm long. The cones are long and slender, 12-32 cm long and 3-4 cm broad (closed), opening to 5-8 cm broad; the scales are thin and flexible. The seeds are small, 4-7 mm long, and have a long slender wing 15-22 mm long. It is related to the Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), differing from it in having larger cones, slightly longer-lasting leaves (2–3 years, rather than 1.5–2 years) with more prominent stomatal bands, and a somewhat denser and narrower habit. The branches are borne in regular whorls, produced at the rate of one a year; this is pronounced in narrow, stand-grown trees, while open specimens may have a more rounded form with wide-reaching limbs. It is widely grown as an ornamental tree, but has been heavily logged throughout much of its range in the past.
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