Knobcone Pine

Taxobox
name = Knobcone Pine
status = LR/lc | status_system = IUCN2.3

---

image_width = 240px
image_caption = Knobcone Pine Cone
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Pinophyta
classis = Pinopsida
ordo = Pinales
familia = Pinaceae
genus = "Pinus"
subgenus = "Pinus"
species = "P. attenuata"
binomial = "Pinus attenuata"
binomial_authority = Lemmon

The Knobcone Pine ("Pinus attenuata") is a tree that grows in mild climates on poor soils. It ranges from the mountains of southern Oregon to Baja California with the greatest concentration in northern California and the Oregon-California border. This pine reaches heights of 8-24 m; however, it can be a shrub on especially poor sites. It prefers dry rocky mountain soils.

The crown is usually conical with a straight trunk. The bark is smooth, flaky and gray-brown when young, becoming dark gray-red-brown and shallowly furrowed into flat scaly ridges. The twigs are red-brown and often resinous.

The leaves are in fascicles of three, needle-like, yellow-green, twisted, and 9-15 cm long. The cones are 8-16 cm long and clustered in whorls of 3 to 6 on the branches. The scales end in a short stout prickle. The cones remain closed for many years until a fire opens them and allows reseeding. As a result, the cones may even become embedded in the trunk as the tree grows.

Knobcone Pine forms nearly pure stands and may hybridize with Bishop Pine and Monterey Pine.

References

*

External links

* [http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/attenuata.htm Gymnosperm Database - "Pinus attenuata"]
* [http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?source=&parkid=&searchText=&allSpecies=&shapeID=0&lshapeID=22&curAbbr=&lastView=default&lastGroup=10&lastRegion=&lastFilter=4&lastShapeName=&trackType=&curRegionID=&size=&habitat=&fruit=&color=&sortBy=family&curFamilyID=696&regionSelect=All+regions&regionZIP=&curGroupID=10&lgfromWhere=&curPageNum=27 eNature Field Guides - Knobcone Pine]
* [http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=225 Virginia Tech Dendrology - Knobcone Pine]