Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana

Lodgepole pine, Lodgepole Pine

Family: Pinaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Lodgepole pine is a California native tree found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, southern Sierra Nevada, San Bernardino Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, and Great Basin in lodgepole forests, wet meadows, and cold mixed-conifer forest environments at elevations of 1,000 to 3,500 meters. While flowering time is not specified, this coniferous tree forms distinctive trunks typically less than 34 meters tall with a characteristic pyramidal shape. Growing with multiple stems that can cluster together, it develops a dense, compact form adapted to high-elevation and cold mountain environments. Its needles are typically dark green, appearing in bundles of two, and create a thick, bushy crown that provides excellent wind and cold resistance. The tree produces small, symmetrical seed cones that are deciduous, dropping soon after opening to spread its seeds across its alpine and subalpine habitats.

Habitat: Lodgepole forest, wet meadows, cold places in mixed-conifer forest

Elevation: 1000-3500 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH, SnGb, SnBr, SnJt, GB

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Tulare, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mono, Kern, Placer, El Dorado, Nevada, Alpine, Inyo, Amador, Plumas, Modoc, Shasta, Sierra, Fresno, Siskiyou, Contra Costa, Butte, Tuolumne, Calaveras, Del Norte, Tehama, Madera, Lassen, Trinity, San Luis Obispo, San Diego

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.