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Cressler, Alan

Pinus longaeva

Pinus longaeva D.K. Bailey

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, Intermountain Bristlecone Pine, Intermontane Bristlecone Pine

Pinaceae (Pine Family)

Synonym(s): Pinus aristata var. longaeva

USDA Symbol: PILO

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Tree with very short needles crowded into mass suggesting a foxtail and a broad, irregular crown of spreading branches; a low shrub at timberline.

The oldest known dated living trees are Intermountain Bristlecone Pines more than 4,600 years old, protected at Inyo National Forest near Bishop, in eastern California. Other very old Intermountain Bristlecone Pines are found at Wheeler Peak Scenic Area, in the Humboldt National Forest of eastern Nevada. Although these trees are classed among the oldest known living things, some shrubs and trees that spread in colonies or clumps from the same root system may be older. The age of a tree is dated by counting the annual rings of wood produced by the cambium layer inside the bark. Wood cells formed in the spring are generally large, while those formed in the summer are smaller; the contrast in cell size from one year to the next is visible as a line. In an old Bristlecone Pine, small cores of wood are removed at different places around the trunk to locate the oldest ring in the center. Intermountain Bristlecone Pine used to be considered a variety of P. aristata.

From the Image Gallery

20 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Tree
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Leaf Arrangement: Fascicled
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Linear
Breeding System: Flowers Unisexual , Monoecious
Fruit Type: Cone

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Not Applicable

Distribution

USA: CA , NV , UT
Native Distribution: Utah to Nevada and E. California; at 7500-11,500' (2286-3505 m).
Native Habitat: Exposed, dry, rocky slopes and ridges of high mountains in subalpine zone to timberline; often in pure stands.

Additional resources

USDA: Find Pinus longaeva in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Pinus longaeva in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Pinus longaeva

Metadata

Record Modified: 2017-07-07
Research By: TWC Staff

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