Pinus balfouriana

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Foxtail pine
Pinus balfouriana John Muir Trail.jpg
John Muir Trail, between Forester Pass and Wallace Creek, southern Sierra Nevada
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: P. subg. Strobus
Section: P. sect. Parrya
Subsection: P. subsect. Balfourianae
Species:
P. balfouriana
Binomial name
Pinus balfouriana
Balf., 1853
Pinus balfouriana range map 1.png
Natural range of Pinus balfouriana
Synonyms [3]
List
    • Pinus balfouriana subsp. austrina R.J.Mastrog. & J.D.Mastrog. (1980)
    • Pinus balfouriana var. austrina (R.J.Mastrog. & J.D.Mastrog.) Silba (1984)

Pinus balfouriana, the foxtail pine, is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection Balfourianae .

Contents

Description

A Foxtail Pine in the southern Sierra Nevada. Foxtail Pine Sequoia.jpg
A Foxtail Pine in the southern Sierra Nevada.

P. balfouriana is a tree to 10–20 m (30–70 ft) tall, exceptionally 35 m (115 ft), with a trunk up to 2 m (7 ft) across. Its leaves are needle-like, in bundles of five (or sometimes four, in the southern Sierra) with a semi-persistent basal sheath, and 2–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) long, deep glossy green on the outer face, and white on the inner faces; they persist for 10–15 years. The cones are 6–11 cm (2+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) long, dark purple ripening red-brown, with soft, flexible scales each with a 1-millimeter (1⁄16-inch) central prickle.

Distribution

P. balfouriana occurs in the subalpine forest at an elevation of 1,950–2,750 m (6,400–9,020 ft) in the Klamath Mountains, and at 2,300–3,500 m (7,500–11,500 ft) in the Sierra Nevada. In the Sierra Nevada, Foxtail pines are limited to the area around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In both areas, it is often a tree line species.

There are two disjunct populations:

ImageSubspeciesDistribution
Pinus balfouriana Trinity Alps Wilderness.jpg Pinus balfouriana var. balfourianasouthern Klamath Mountains
Foxtail pine Pinus balfouriana subsp austrina Big Arroyo.jpg Pinus balfouriana var. austrinathe southern Sierra Nevada [4]

A small outlying population was reported in southern Oregon, but was proven to have been misidentified. [5]

Age

It is thought that P. balfouriana can live up to 3000 years in the Sierra Nevada, although the highest currently proven age is 2110 years. In the Klamath Mountains, ages are only known to about 1000 years.

In the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness. Yolla-bolly-wilderness.jpg
In the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness.

P. balfouriana is closely related to the bristlecone pines, being classified in the same subsection Balfourianae ; it has been hybridised with the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine in cultivation, though no hybrids have ever been found in the wild.

References

  1. ↑ Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus balfouriana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T42345A2974187. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42345A2974187.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ NatureServe (2024). "Pinus balfouriana". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "Pinus balfouriana Balf". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  4. ↑ Moore, Gerry; Kershner, Bruce; Craig Tufts; Daniel Mathews; Gil Nelson; Spellenberg, Richard; Thieret, John W.; Terry Purinton; Block, Andrew (2008). National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. New York: Sterling. p. 83. ISBN   978-1-4027-3875-3.
  5. ↑ Kauffmann, Michael E. (2012). Conifer Country. Kneeland, CA: Backcountry Press. ISBN   978-0-578-09416-8. OCLC   798852130.

Further reading

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