Lodgepole pine

Leaves

Form

• Needles evergreen
• In bundles of 2
• Usually twisted, stiff
• Very sharp pointed
• Not spread apart
• Edges sharply toothed
• Bundle-sheath persistent

Length

• 3–7 cm

Colour

• Dark green to yellowish-green

Buds

Form

• Blunt-pointed, resinous

Length

• To 15 mm

Colour

• Reddish-brown

Twigs

Form

• Ridged and grooved
• Vigorous shoots on young trees usually with 1 or more intermediate nodes bearing loose whorls of side branches

Colour

• Orange-brown becoming reddish-brown or very dark brown during the second season

Seed cones (mature)

Form

• Cylindrical to ovoid, sometimes asymmetrical
• Stalkless
• At right angles to the branch or pointing back
• In small clusters at the nodes
• Usually closed
• Persist on tree 10–20 years

Length

• 3–6 cm

Colour

• Purplish-brown

Structure

• Scales thickened at the tips, with a curved prickle
• Usually held closed by a resin bond

Timing

• Open when exposed to the heat from a wildfire or from direct sunlight

Seeds

Form

• Often mottled and ridged on one side

Length

• Seed 3 mm
• Seed wing about 10 mm

Colour

• Brownish

Bark

Form

• Relatively thin, less than 2 cm thick
• With fine scales

Colour

• Orange-brown to grey

Wood

Texture

• Soft and light to moderately hard and heavy

Colour

• Light yellow to yellowish-brown

Morphology

• Tangential surface often prominently dimpled

Uses

• General construction, wood pulp
• After treatment with preservatives, for railway ties, poles, and mine timbers

Size

Height

• To 30 m

Diameter

• To 60 cm

Maximum age

• 200 years

Tree form

Forest-grown

Trunk

• Often straight with little taper, especially in dense stands where the live crown is small

Crown

• Narrowly conical
• Branches slender, short

Root system

• A taproot and lateral roots with vertical sinkers

Habitat

Site

• Occurs on a wide range of soils and sites, including wet depressions

Associated species

• Large pure stands are common; their density sometimes restricts normal growth

Range

Yukon through interior British Columbia, into western Alberta and southward