Pinus radiata

Monterey pine

Family: Pinaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Monterey pine is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native shrub found in the central coastal regions near Point Año Nuevo, Monterey Peninsula, and Cambria-San Simeon area in closed-cone pine forest and oak woodland at elevations below 1,300 meters. With a distinctive growth pattern producing up to 2 meters of height per year in its youth, this pine develops a mature crown that is irregular and round-topped with a black, deeply grooved bark. Growing with (2)3 dark green needles per bundle reaching 6 to 15 centimeters long, the tree has persistent needle sheaths and develops asymmetric seed cones 6 to 15 centimeters long that open slowly in their second year. Its mature form features a trunk less than 38 meters tall and less than 2.1 meters wide, with seed cones that remain persistent for less than 25 years and have rounded scale tip knobs. The tree's light brown cones have small proximal scale tip knobs less than 2 centimeters long and minutely prickled surfaces.

Habitat: Closed-cone-pine forest, oak woodland

Elevation: < 1300 m

Bioregions: CCo (near Point Año Nuevo vicinity of Monterey Peninsula Cambria-San Simeon area all &lt 300 m) (naturalized NCo, CCo, SCo, PR (Santa Ana Mtns))

California counties: Monterey, Orange, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Francisco, Marin, Mendocino, Los Angeles, Contra Costa, Butte, Sonoma, Alameda, Santa Clara, Humboldt, El Dorado, Amador, Napa, 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.