Name

Pinus aristata Englm., Amer. J. Sci. Arts, ser. 2, 34: 331. (1862).
[Bristlecone pine]

Description

Habit: Small tree, to about 15 m high with a short, often leaning trunk, and twisted, upturned branches; young branches resemble long bottle-brushes because of densely clustered, persistent leaves.

Bark: In young trees thin, green and smooth becoming red-brown to grey, ridged and scaly in older specimens.

Foliage: Needles in 5s, 2-4 cm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, bluish green to dark green, often speckled with small white resin flecks, incurved, lines of stomata on inner sides, outer surface with narrow median groove, leaf sheaths curl back into small rosettes which remain for 2-4 years at leaf base. Needles persist for 10-17 years.

Branchlets: Young shoots stout, yellowish to reddish brown, usually covered with minute hairs at first, 2nd-year shoots largely covered with dark grey, rolled down basal leaf sheaths.

Winter buds: Ovoid, pointed, about 8-12 cm long, red-brown, resinous, outer scales free, incurved, inner scales loosely appressed.

Cones: Stalkless or with a short stalk, cylindric-ovoid, tapering to a rounded apex, 4-11 cm long, dull purple at first, ripening to brown, scales thin, narrow, thickened at outer end with long, slender prickles up to about 10 mm which curve backwards, often completely or partly broken off. Cones mature in 2 years, shed seeds and fall soon after.

Seeds: Ovoid, 5-6 mm long, light to dark brown, mottled with black, wing 7-11 mm long, separating easily from the seed.

Notes

Distinguished from other 5-needled pines by dense brushes of dark foliage with flecks of resin on the short needles, narrow sharp needles with a median groove on one surface, rolled back leaf sheaths and prominently spined cones. Very similar to P. longaeva and P. balfouriana, but these two species are very rare in cultivation and are not included in the key.

Natural Distribution

SW North America.