Coulter pine (LA Urban Forest Program)

Coulter pine

Pinus coulteri

Summary ⁵

The Coulter pine or big-cone pine, Pinus coulteri, is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California and northern Baja California (Mexico). Isolated groves are found as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area in Mt. Diablo State Park and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. The species is named after Thomas Coulter, an Irish botanist and physician.

Common names ⁶

Coulter pine
California Coulter pine
big-cone pine
nut pine
pitch pine

Description ⁷

Trees to 24m; trunk to 1m diam., straight to contorted; crown broad, thin, irregular. Bark dark gray-brown to near black, deeply furrowed, with long, scaly, irregularly anastomosing, rounded ridges. Branches often ascending; twigs stout to moderately slender, violet-brown, often glaucous, aging gray-brown, rough. Buds ovoid, deep red-brown, 1.5(--3)cm, resinous; scale margins white-fringed, apex cuspidate. Leaves 3 per fascicle, slightly spreading, not drooping, mostly ascending in a brush, persisting 3--4 years, 15--30cm ´ ca. 2mm, slightly curved or straight, twisted, dusty gray-green, all surfaces with pale, fine stomatal lines, margins serrulate, apex abruptly subulate; sheath 2--4cm, base persistent. Pollen cones ovoid to cylindric, to 25mm, light purple-brown, aging orange-brown. Seed cones maturing in 2 years, gradually shedding seeds thereafter and moderately persistent, massive, heavy, drooping, asymmetric at base, narrowly ovoid before opening, ovoid-cylindric when open, 20--35cm, pale yellow-brown, resinous, stalks to 3cm; apophyses transverse-rhombic, strongly and sharply cross-keeled, elongate, curved, continuous with umbos to form long, upcurved claws 2.5--3cm. Seeds obovoid; body 15--22mm, dark brown; wing to 25mm. 2 n =24.

Description ⁸

Coulter pine is a native evergreen conifer that lives up to 100 years of
age [23]. It attains a height of 30 to 83 feet (9-25 m) and a d.b.h.
of 12 to 31 inches (30-80 cm) [23,29,31,41]. The bark is thick and
roughly furrowed at maturity [29,36,38]. The crown is pyramidal and may
be dense or open, depending upon the site [23,38,41]. Needles occur in
groups of three and are 6 to 12 inches (15-30 cm) long [29,41,50]. The
massive, spiny cones are 9 to 15 inches (24-40 cm) long, occurring in
whorls of four [29,41]. Young trees first bear cones on the trunk. As
trees mature, cones are also borne on strong branches [7].

Although geographically isolated, nine Coulter pine populations were
very similar in all of three morphological characteristics studies.
Oleoresins (volatile portion) were also similar [55].

Fuentes y créditos

(c) J. Maughn, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), subido por J. Maughn, http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmaughn/13944922303/
(c) Original uploader was Geographer at en.wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Culter_pine_cone.jpg
(c) BJ Stacey, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC), http://www.flickr.com/photos/finaticphotography/8803543407/
(c) Ken-ichi Ueda, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY), subido por Ken-ichi Ueda
Adaptado por earthwatchtrees del trabajo de (c) Wikipedia, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_coulteri
Dominio Publico, http://eol.org/data_objects/23370320
(c) Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA, algunos derechos reservados (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/5008549
Dominio Publico, http://eol.org/data_objects/24642063