Ponderosa pine
- Latin name: Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.
- French name: Pin ponderosa
- Synonym(s): Western yellow pine
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 183365
Description
Leaves
Form
- Needles evergreen
- In bundles of 3 (occasionally 2 or 5)
- Straight, stiff but flexible, very sharp
- Edges sharply toothed
- Bundle-sheath persistent
Length
- 12–25 cm
Colour
- Dark yellowish-green
Buds
Form
- Sharp-pointed, usually resinous
Length
- 15–20 mm
Twigs
Form
- Stout, hairless
Colour
- Yellowish-green, changing to orange-brown in the second season
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Cylindrical to narrowly ovoid when closed
- Pendulous
- Almost stalkless
- Often in groups of 3
Length
- 7–15 cm
Colour
- Lustrous reddish-brown
Structure
- Scales thickened at the tips, bearing rigid, sharp prickles
Timing
- Open at maturity to release the seeds
- Cones usually fall during winter, leaving their stalks with a few basal scales attached to the branchlets
Seeds
Form
- Mottled
- With a boat-shaped terminal wing
Length
- Seed about 7 mm
- Seed wing about 20 mm
Colour
- Dark brown
Seedlings
Form
- 5–12 cotyledons, toothless, occasionally sparsely toothed on the midvein near the base
Length
- 25–60 mm
Bark
Form
- Rough and scaly when young
- With age becoming deeply fissured into large, flat, flaky plates, 2–10 cm thick
Colour
- Dark grey when young, with age becoming orange-brown
Wood
Texture
- Uniform in texture
- Moderately strong and hard
Colour
- Heartwood yellowish to reddish-brown
- Sapwood nearly white to pale yellow
Morphology
- Heartwood moderately decay-resistant
- Sapwood very wide
Uses
- Window sashes and frames, siding, door moldings, paneling, patterns, cabinetwork, boxes, and crates
Size
Height
- To 35 m, occasionally 50 m
Diameter
- To 100 cm
Maximum age
- Several hundred years
Tree form
Forest-grown
Trunk
- Straight, with little taper
- Often branch-free for most of its length
Crown
- Wide, irregularly cylindrical, flat-topped in old trees
- Branches stout, lower ones often drooping
- Upper ones on old crowns ascending
Root system
- Very wide-spreading
- Often with a deep, massive taproot up to 2 m long
- Very windfirm
Habitat
Site
- Occurs on a wide variety of soils
Light tolerance
- Intolerant of shade
Associated species
- In pure open stands, especially at lower elevations in areas subject to frequent forest fires
- Also in mixed stands with Douglas-fir and western larch at elevations up to 1500 m
Range
Southern part of interior British Columbia
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)
-
Western pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
Foliage or buds
Red pine sawfly
-
Neodiprion nanulus
Schedl
- Neodiprion nanulus contortae
- Neodiprion nanulus nanulus
- Argyrotaenia dorsalana (Dyar)
- Caripeta aequaliaria Grote
- Coleotechnites atrupictella (Dietz)
-
Douglas-fir tussock moth
Scientific name: Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough)
- Epinotia hopkinsana (Kraft)
- Eupithecia ornata (Hulst)
-
European pine sawfly
Scientific name: Neodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy)
-
European pine shoot moth
Scientific name: Rhyacionia buoliana (Denis and Schiffermuller)
- Glena nigricaria (Barnes and McDunnough)
-
Golden buprestid
Scientific name: Buprestis aurulenta Linnaeus
-
Green larch looper
Scientific name: Semiothisa sexmaculata (Packard)
-
Introduced pine sawfly
Scientific name: Diprion similis (Hartig)
- 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)
-
Neodiprion mundus
Scientific name: Neodiprion mundus Rohwer
-
Northern pitch twig moth
Scientific name: Petrova albicapitana (Busck)
-
Pine false webworm
Scientific name: Acantholyda erythrocephala (L.)
-
Pine needle scale
Scientific name: Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch)
-
Pine needle sheathminer
Scientific name: Zelleria haimbachi Busck
-
Pine tussock moth
Scientific name: Dasychira grisefacta (Dyar)
-
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
- Sabulodes edwardsata (Hulst)
-
Small pine looper
Scientific name: Eupithecia palpata Pack.
-
Spruce spider mite
Scientific name: Oligonychus ununguis (Jacobi)
- Stenoporpia pulmonaria satisfacta (Barnes and McDunnough)
- Tolype dayi (Blackmore)
-
Twolined larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx laricivorus (Rohwer et Middleton)
-
Upright webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Acantholyda verticalis (Cresson)
-
Western false hemlock looper
Scientific name: Nepytia freemani (Munroe)
-
Western pine budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
-
Western pine elfin
Scientific name: Callophrys eryphon (Boisduval)
-
Whitetriangle leafroller
Scientific name: Clepsis persicana (Fitch)
- Xestia praevia (J.B. Smith)
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.
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 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
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
-
Dothistroma needle blight
Pathogen name: Mycosphaerella pini Rost. in Munk
-
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
-
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 irregulare)
Pathogen name: Heterobasidion irregulare (Underw.) Garbel. & Otrosina
Annosus root and butt rot (Heterobasidion occidentale)
Pathogen name: Heterobasidion occidentale Otrosina & Garbel
Pitted sap rot
Pathogen name: Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden (Common names for this fungus: purple conk fungus, purple-toothed polypore)
Distribution map
