This is an easy one. This tree has a been a foothills friend to me in Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and California. It’s distinctive size and appearance made it one of the first trees I learned. These trees can get big, up to 300 feet tall, but most are in the 100-150 foot range. They have a deep root system that helps them flourish in the dry American West. Needles are 4 to 9 inches long and grow in bunches of 3.
The bark can become a cinnamon color in a mature tree, and smell like vanilla or even chocolate. Thick, plate-like formations of the bark help protect the tree from ground fires.
4 responses to “Name the evergreen ”
Pondarosa Pine or Jeffrey Pine. Maybe a Sugar Pine. All three very similar species with slight differences. What did I win?
You got it – a Ponderosa. Is fame and immortality on the hobolog not enough? How about one of my used books?
Jeffrey pines aren’t very common in the Rockies, I think they’re mostly found in the Sierra Nevada and Cascades. Same with Sugar Pines, which also have 5 needles per bundle and big long cones.
dylan –
this is probably the winner for the most random comment for the week, nay, year, but, this is your long lost… cousin? in fact, i don’t really remember exactly how we are related, and in another fact, i only have one working memory of you staying at my house over 6 years ago in michigan on your recumbent pedal powered trip around the country. The question is, i suppose, do YOU remember that at all, or who if i am who i claim to be, do you have any inkling of who i am.
longstoryshort – i just moved to cheyenne, and from the jist of the posts i have read is that you are in the denver area? if this is so, i would absolutely love to be able to catch up sometime, as i seem to head into Colorado every weekend i can (i just got to hike around Ft Collins this afternoon, very fun time complented by some great breweries) and i think it would be fun to see where each others lives are.
random and lengthy, i know, but i hope to hear from you soon.
doug
p.s. i worked at a camp for two summers in Santa Cruz california, which hills are the home to the lowest known elevationed ponderosa pines in the country. they bring back some wonderful memories.
p.p.s. my email is dougsolo@gmail.com, you know, for the record.
Hey Doug! I definitely remember staying with you on Barlow lake. Nice to see you have a blog as well, I’ll check it out.
Quick way to see where I am and how I got here: look the hobonews topic here.