Western white pine

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