Western white pine

Pinus monticola

Family: Pinaceae

Type: Large evergreen conifer.

Leaves: As a white pine, its needles in bunches of five with a sheath that is not persistent. The needles are similar to the sugar pine's, but while the sugar pine's needles have stomatal bloom on both sides, the Western white pine will have stomatal bloom only on the inner surface of the needle clusters.

Twig: The bark is similar to that of the sugar pine: gray with a pinkish hue (variable), with small puzzle pieces and narrow channels.

Cone: Long and narrow, and soft to the touch, like the sugar pine's cones, but much smaller.

Miscellaneous: The Western white pine is analogous to the sugar pine, but grows only at higher altitudes. This indicates a greater drought tolerance than sugar pine, since it can withstand the deep summer droughts at altitude; it is very drought-tolerant. It can be found from upper montane forests into subalpine forests in the northern Rockies.