Western white pine
- Latin name: Pinus monticola Dougl. Ex D. Don
- French name: Pin argenté
- Synonym(s): Idaho white pine mountain white pine , silver pine
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 183356
Description
Leaves
Form
- Needles evergreen
- Remaining on tree for 3–4 years
- In bundles of 5
- Slender, straight
- Triangular in cross-section
- Flexible, soft
- Edges finely toothed
- Bundle-sheath scales deciduous during 1st season
Length
- 5–10 cm
Colour
- Bluish-green with lines of white dots
Buds
Form
- Slender, blunt-pointed
- Scales overlapping, close-fitting
Length
- 10 mm
Colour
- Brownish
Twigs
Form
- Hairy, becoming hairless during 2nd season
- Microshoot scars round or oval, set in a crescent-shaped leaf-cushion
Colour
- Green, becoming brownish during 2nd season
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Cylindrical, slightly curved
- Pendulous
Length
- 10–30 cm
- Stalk 2 cm
Structure
- 90–160 scales, often reflexed when dry
- In spiral rows, thin-tipped, without prickles
Timing
- Seeds are shed soon after the cones mature
- Cones fall during the winter
Seeds
Form
- Mottled
Length
- Seed 5–7 mm
- Seed wing 18–26 mm
Colour
- Seed brown
Seedlings
Form
- 6–10 cotyledons, minutely toothed near their bases
Length
- 16–30 mm
Bark
Form
- Thin, smooth when young
- With age broken into small, rectangular to hexagonal scaly plates, 2–4 cm thick, separated by deep longitudinal furrows and horizontal crevices
Colour
- Greyish-green when young, becoming dark grey to nearly black with age
Wood
Texture
- Soft, light, moderately strong
- Non-resinous
Colour
- Creamy-white to yellow
Morphology
- Heartwood moderately decay-resistant
Uses
- Carvings, window sashes and frames
- Also doors, patterns, siding, paneling, trim, and wooden matches
Size
Height
- To 50 m
Diameter
- To 150 cm
Maximum age
- 400 years
Tree form
Open-grown
Crown
- Sometimes wide and one-sided
Forest-grown
Trunk
- Branch-free up to 25 m from the ground
- With little taper
Crown
- Slender, columnar
- With short whorled branches
Root system
- Wide-spreading, with a few vertical roots
Habitat
Site
- The only 5-needled pine that grows at low elevations in the mountains of western Canada
- Near the coast it reaches higher elevations
- Thrives on a wide variety of sites
- Peat bogs to dry sandy soils and rocky earth
- Grows best in moist valleys and on gentle slopes
Light tolerance
- Moderately shade-tolerant
Associated species
- Usually mixed with other species
Range
Western North America
Insects and mites
Insects that cause damage to this tree.
-
Pales weevil
Scientific name: Hylobius pales (Herbst)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
Cones or seeds
- Enypia venata (Grote)
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
-
Orange tortrix
Scientific name: Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernie)
Foliage or buds
Hemlock looper
-
Lambdina fiscellaria
(Guenée)
- Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria
- Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa
- Lambdina fiscellaria somniaria
- Caripeta aequaliaria Grote
- Enypia venata (Grote)
- Eupithecia ornata (Hulst)
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
-
Green larch looper
Scientific name: Semiothisa sexmaculata (Packard)
-
Greenstriped forest looper
Scientific name: Melanolophia imitata (Walker)
-
Hemlock looper
Scientific names:
-
Lambdina fiscellaria
(Guenée)
- Lambdina fiscellaria fiscellaria
- Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa
- Lambdina fiscellaria somniaria
-
Lambdina fiscellaria
(Guenée)
- Hydriomena speciosata (Packard)
-
Introduced pine sawfly
Scientific name: Diprion similis (Hartig)
-
Larch pug moth
Scientific name: Eupithecia annulata (Hulst)
-
Lodgepole terminal weevil
Scientific name: Pissodes terminalis (Hopping)
-
Orange tortrix
Scientific name: Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernie)
-
Packard’s gridle moth
Scientific name: Enypia packardata (Taylor)
-
Pine measuringworm moth
Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
-
Pine needle scale
Scientific name: Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
- Pristiphora leechi Wong and Ross
- Sabulodes edwardsata (Hulst)
-
Small pine looper
Scientific name: Eupithecia palpata Pack.
-
Spruce spider mite
Scientific name: Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi)
-
Upright webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Acantholyda verticalis (Cresson)
-
Western larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx occidens Ross
-
Western webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Cephalcia californica Middlekauff
- Zeiraphera vancouverana McDunnough
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.
-
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
-
Brown cubical sap rot
Pathogen name: Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen: Fr.) P. Karst.
Cones or seeds
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
Foliage or buds
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
-
Dothistroma needle blight
Pathogen name: Mycosphaerella pini Rost. in Munk
-
Needle cast (Bifusella linearis)
Pathogen name: Bifusella linearis (Peck) Höhn.
-
Needle cast (Lophodermium pinastri )
Pathogen name: Lophodermium pinastri (Shrad.:Fr.) Chev.
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
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
