Lodgepole pine
- Latin name: Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm. Dougl. ex Loud.
- French name: Pin tordu latifolié
- Synonym(s): Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine black pine
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 529673
Description
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
Photos
Photos
Anthony Scullion
Insects and mites
Insects that cause damage to this tree.
- Neodiprion nanulus contortae Ross
-
Pales weevil
Scientific name: Hylobius pales (Herbst)
-
Pine false webworm
Scientific name: Acantholyda erythrocephala (L.)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
Cones or seeds
- Epinotia hopkinsana (Kraft)
- Eupithecia placidata (Taylor)
-
Orange tortrix
Scientific name: Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernie)
-
Western cedar borer
Scientific name: Trachykele blondeli Marseul
-
Western pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
Foliage or buds
Red pine sawfly
-
Neodiprion nanulus
Schedl
- Neodiprion nanulus contortae
- Neodiprion nanulus nanulus
- Caripeta aequaliaria Grote
- Epinotia hopkinsana (Kraft)
- Eupithecia longipalpata (Packard)
- Eupithecia subfuscata (Haworth)
-
European pine sawfly
Scientific name: Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy)
- Glena nigricaria (Barnes and McDunnough)
-
Golden buprestid
Scientific name: Buprestis aurulenta Linnaeus
-
Green larch looper
Scientific name: Semiothisa sexmaculata (Packard)
- Hydriomena irata Swett
- Hydriomena speciosata (Packard)
-
Introduced pine sawfly
Scientific name: Diprion similis (Hartig)
-
Larch pug moth
Scientific name: Eupithecia annulata (Hulst)
- Lithophane atara (J.B. Smith)
-
Lodgepole terminal weevil
Scientific name: Pissodes terminalis (Hopping)
- Macaria adonis (Barnes & McDunnough)
-
Metallic pitch blister moth
Scientific name: Petrova metallica (Busck)
-
Northern pitch twig moth
Scientific name: Petrova albicapitana (Busck)
-
Northern tent caterpillar
Scientific name: Malacosoma californicum pluviale (Dyar)
-
Orange tortrix
Scientific name: Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernie)
-
Packard’s gridle moth
Scientific name: Enypia packardata (Taylor)
-
Pine false webworm
Scientific name: Acantholyda erythrocephala (L.)
-
Pine measuringworm moth
Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
-
Pine needle scale
Scientific name: Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch)
-
Pine needle sheathminer
Scientific name: Zelleria haimbachi Busck
-
Pine shoot beetle
Scientific name: Tomicus piniperda (L.)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
- Protoboarmia porcelaria (Guenee)
-
Red pine sawfly
Scientific names:
-
Neodiprion nanulus
Schedl
- Neodiprion nanulus contortae
- Neodiprion nanulus nanulus
-
Neodiprion nanulus
Schedl
-
Small pine looper
Scientific name: Eupithecia palpata Pack.
-
Spruce climbing cutworm
Scientific name: Syngrapha alias (Ottolengui)
-
Spruce spider mite
Scientific name: Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi)
-
Twolined larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx laricivorus (Rohwer et Middleton)
-
Upright webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Acantholyda verticalis (Cresson)
-
Western larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx occidens Ross
-
Western pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
-
Western webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Cephalcia californica Middlekauff
-
Whitetriangle leafroller
Scientific name: Clepsis persicana (Fitch)
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Diseases caused by pathogens
Diseases caused by pathogens that cause damage to this tree.
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
Leptomelanconium needle blight of pine
Pathogen name: Leptomelanconium pinicola (Berk. & Curtis) R.S. Hunt
-
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
-
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
-
Brown cubical sap rot
Pathogen name: Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen: Fr.) P. Karst.
-
Diplodia blight
Pathogen name: Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel
-
Elytroderma disease
Pathogen name: Elytroderma deformans (Weir) Darker
-
Leptomelanconium needle blight of pine
Pathogen name: Leptomelanconium pinicola (Berk. & Curtis) R.S. Hunt
-
Pine needle cast
Pathogen name: Lophodermella montivaga Petr.
Cones or seeds
-
Sirococcus Shoot Blight
Pathogen name: Sirococcus conigenus (Dc.) Cannon & Minter
-
Western gall rust
Pathogen name: Cronartium harknessii E. Meinecke
Foliage or buds
-
Conifer-aspen rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora medusae f. sp. tremuloidis Shain
-
Diplodia blight
Pathogen name: Diplodia sapinea (Fr.) Fuckel
-
Elytroderma disease
Pathogen name: Elytroderma deformans (Weir) Darker
-
Needle cast (Lophodermium pinastri )
Pathogen name: Lophodermium pinastri (Shrad.:Fr.) Chev.
-
Pine needle cast
Pathogen name: Lophodermella concolor (Dearn.) Darker
-
Sirococcus Shoot Blight
Pathogen name: Sirococcus conigenus (Dc.) Cannon & Minter
-
Tar spot needle cast
Pathogen name: Davisomycella ampla (J.J. Davis) Darker
-
Western pine-aster rust
Pathogen name: Coleosporium montanum (Arthur & F. Kern) McTaggart & Aime
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Annosus root and butt rot (Heterobasidion occidentale)
Pathogen name: Heterobasidion occidentale Otrosina & Garbel
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
Pitted sap rot
Pathogen name: Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden (Common names for this fungus: purple conk fungus, purple-toothed polypore)
Schweinitzii butt rot
Pathogen name: Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat. (Common names for the fungus: velvet-topped polypore, dyer’s polypore)
Distribution map
