Pinus sabiniana

Gray, ghost, or foothill pine, Or Foothill Pine

Family: Pinaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Gray pine is a California native tree found in the California Floristic Province, western Great Basin, and western Desert regions in foothill woodlands, oak woodlands, chaparral, and mixed-conifer forests at elevations of 150 to 1,500 meters. Its distinctive trunk often grows leaning, with several major branches developing after 20 to 30 years, characterized by dark gray bark that forms irregular furrows and yellow plates with age. Growing to heights less than 38 meters, this pine produces three gray-green needles per bundle that characteristically droop and measure 9 to 38 centimeters long. Its large seed cones are particularly notable, hanging pendulously at 10 to 28 centimeters long, with ovate-oblong shapes and scale tips that recurve and elongate 3 to 7 centimeters. The tree's unique appearance is further defined by its persistent needle sheaths and slowly opening brown cones that remain on branches for several years.

Habitat: Foothill woodland, northern oak woodland, chaparral, infertile soils in mixed-conifer and hardwood forests

Elevation: 150-1500 m

Bioregions: CA-FP (exc n NW, n CaR, SnJV), w GB, w D

California counties: Monterey, Alameda, Lake, Fresno, San Benito, Humboldt, Kern, Butte, Placer, Amador, Mariposa, Inyo, Madera, Calaveras, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Napa, Orange, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Shasta, Tuolumne, Santa Barbara, Trinity, Glenn, Plumas, Tulare, San Bernardino, El Dorado, Yolo, Sacramento, Nevada, Mendocino, Siskiyou, Yuba, Sonoma, Colusa, Tehama, Stanislaus, Santa Cruz, Ventura, Solano, Merced, 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.