Coulter pine

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Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri), or big-cone pine, is a conifer in the genus Pinus of the family Pinaceae. Coulter pine is an evergreen conifer that lives up to 100 years. <ref name=":0">Horton, Jerome S. 1949. Trees and shrubs for erosion control of southern California mountains. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, California [Pacific Southwest] Forest and Range Experiment Station; California Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry. 72 p. [10689]</ref> It is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico, occurring in mediterranean climates, where winter rains are infrequent and summers are dry with occasional thunderstorms.<ref name=":1">Minnich, Richard A. 1976. Vegetation of the San Bernardino Mountains. In: Latting, June, ed. Symposium proceedings: plant communities of southern California; 1974 May 4; Fullerton, CA. Special Publication No.2. Berkeley, CA: California Native Plant Society: 99-124. [4232]</ref> Isolated groves are found as far north as Clearlake, California, on the flanks of Mt. Konocti and in Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. Although geographically isolated, these Coulter pine populations were very similar in all of three studies of morphological characteristics. Oleoresins (volatile portions) were also similar.<ref>St. John, Harold. 1973. List and summary of the flowering plants in the Hawaiian islands. Hong Kong: Cathay Press Limited. 519 p. [25354]</ref>

While the species has a limited range in the wild, the Coulter pine is a popular ornamental tree and is grown in many countries.

Coulter pine (Pinus coulteri) is named after Thomas Coulter, an Irish botanist and physician. The Coulter pine produces some of the heaviest cones of any pine tree, up to Template:Cvt; among conifers, these are exceeded only by the cones of Araucaria bidwillii. Template:Cn

DescriptionEdit

Pinus coulteri is a substantial coniferous evergreen tree in the genus Pinus. The size ranges from Template:Cvt tall,Template:Sfn with a trunk diameter up to Template:Cvt. The trunk is vertical and branches horizontal to upcurved. The bark is dark gray-brown to near black, deeply furrowed, with long, scaly, irregularly anastomosing, rounded ridges.<ref name=":2">Kral, R. 1993. Pinus. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (eds.): Flora of North America North of Mexico, Vol. 2. Oxford University Press.</ref> The crown is pyramidal and may be dense or open, depending upon the site.<ref name=":0" /> The leaves are needle-like, in bundles of three, glaucous gray-green in color, Template:Cvt long, and stout, Template:Cvt thick.Template:Cn

The exemplary characteristic of this tree is the large, spiny cones, which are Template:Cvt long (occasionally as much as Template:Cvt length has been observed)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Template:Cvt in width,<ref>Gardener's Chronicle Volume 23 (third series)(March 28, 1885) Page 415</ref> and weigh Template:Cvt when fresh. Each segment, or "scale", of the cone is tipped with a talon-like hook. Although the slender cones of the sugar pine are longer, Coulter pines produce the largest cones of any pine species, and people are advised to wear hardhats when working in Coulter pine groves. The large size of the cones, combined with the claw-like scales, has earned them the nickname "widowmakers" among locals.Template:Cn Seed cones mature in two years, gradually shedding seeds thereafter, and are moderately persistent, massive, heavy, drooping, asymmetric at the base, narrowly ovoid before opening, ovoid-cylindric when open, Template:Cvt long, pale yellow-brown in color, and resinous, with stalks to Template:Cvt. The apophyses are transverse-rhombic, strongly and sharply cross-keeled, elongate, curved, and continuous with umbos to form long, upcurved claws Template:Cvt. The seeds are obovoid in shape, dark brown in color, and the body Template:Cvt long, with a wing to Template:Cvt.<ref name=":2" />

TaxonomyEdit

The name Pinus coulteri comes from Latin for pine, and coulteri comes from its discoverer Thomas Coulter (1793–1843), an Irish botanist and physician.<ref>Trees of Stanford and Environs, by Ronald Bracewell, published 2005.</ref> Pinus coulteri was discovered by Coulter on the mountains of Santa Lucia, near the Mission of San Antonio, at latitude 36°, within sight of the ocean and at an elevation between 3000 and 4000 feet above sea level. It was growing intermingled with Pinus Lambertiana.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

This is a member of subsection Ponderosae, and is generally recognized as closely related (morphologically, geographically, and genetically) to Pinus sabiniana, P.Template:Nbsptorreyana, and P. jeffreyi; the three taxa form group Sabinianae Loudon 1838 (Pinus jeffreyi, though morphologically a bit different, is known to hybridize with P.Template:Nbspcoulteri, and molecular analysis clearly places it in the Sabinianae).<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> P. coulteri, alone in the Sabinianae, also shares a chloroplast haplotype with P. arizonica of the northern Sierra Madre. It seems likely that the species arose through a hybridization event involving two members of subsection Ponderosae.<ref name=":3" />

Distribution and habitatsEdit

Coulter pine is most frequent on steep south-facing slopes and ridges.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Barbour, Michael G. 1988. Californian upland forests and woodlands. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Billings, William Dwight, eds. North American terrestrial vegetation. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press:131-164. [13880]</ref><ref>Vogl, Richard J. 1976. An introduction to the plant communities of the Santa Ana and San Jacinto Mountains. In: Latting, June, ed. Symposium proceedings: plant communities of southern California; 1974 May 4; Fullerton, CA. Special Publication No. 2. Berkeley, CA: California Native Plant Society: 77-98. [4230]</ref><ref name=":4">Holland, Robert F. 1986. Preliminary descriptions of the terrestrial natural communities of California. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Fish and Game. 156 p. [12756]</ref> Soils may be poor to fertile, and are typically dry. Coulter pine is an indicator of serpentine soils, but also occurs on a variety of other substrates. Soils range from loamy to gravelly or rocky in texture.<ref name=":4" /><ref>Krochmal, Arnold; Krochmal, Connie. 1982. Uncultivated nuts of the United States. Agriculture Information Bulletin 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 89 p. [1377]</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Coulter pine occurs at Template:Cvt elevation.<ref name=":5">Thorne, Robert F. 1976. The vascular plant communities of California. In: Latting, June, ed. Symposium proceedings: plant communities of southern California; 1974 May 4; Fullerton, CA. Special Publication No. 2. Berkeley, CA: California Native Plant Society: 1-31. [3289]</ref><ref>Zobel, Bruce. 1953. Geographic range and intraspecific variation of Coulter pine. Madrono. 11(8): 285-316. [21797]</ref>

Coulter pine is the dominant species in the following published classifications: Terrestrial natural communities of California,<ref name=":4" /> Vegetation types of the San Bernardino Mountains,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Vegetation of the San Bernardino Mountains,<ref name=":1" /> A vegetation classification system applied to southern California,<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> Mixed evergreen forest,<ref>Sawyer, John O.; Thornburgh, Dale A.; Griffin, James R. 1977. Mixed evergreen forest. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Major, Jack, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. New York: John Wiley and Sons: 359-381. [7218]</ref> Vascular plant communities of California,<ref name=":5" /> Montane and subalpine forests of the Transverse and Peninsular ranges.<ref>Thorne, Robert F. 1977. Montane and subalpine forests of the Transverse and Peninsular ranges. In: Barbour, Michael G.; Major, Jack, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. New York: John Wiley and Sons: 537-557. [7214]</ref>

EcologyEdit

The Coulter pine is closely related to the foothill pine, Pinus sabiniana. It is more distantly related to Jeffrey pine, with which it shares habitats, and the ponderosa pine.Template:Sfn Coulter pines tend to grow in drier environments than ponderosa and Jeffery pines.Template:Cn

This erect, medium-sized pine prefers south-facing slopes from Template:Cvt elevation, and tolerates dry rocky soil. Pinus coulteri most often appears in mixed forests. The Coulter pine occurs in a number of forest plant associations; for example, at higher elevations forestation of the San Jacinto Mountains Coulter Pine is co-dominant with the California black oak.Template:Sfn Woodpeckers often forage on the species, and peel the bark to access insects underneath.Template:Sfn

UsesEdit

Wildlife, especially squirrels, gather the large seeds. The seeds were also once eaten by Native Americans.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The wood is weak and soft, so that the species is little used other than for firewood.Template:Cn

Pinus coulteri is cultivated as an ornamental tree, planted in parks and large gardens, and used in drought-tolerant landscaping. The Coulter pine has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.Template:Sfn

GalleryEdit

Male cone of Coulter pine.jpg
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Mature coulter pine.jpg

Mature tree, as seen from under branches at ground level
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Cones on groind.jpg
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Coulter Pine cone.jpg

Large cone, found at 4,150 ft elevation in the Santa Lucia Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest, California Coastal Range of the Central Coast.
Large Coulter Pine cone.jpg

Exceptional cone example, shown with needle cluster (soda can for scale).
Coulter cone.jpg
Pinus coulteri MHNT Cone.jpg
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Cone closeup.jpg
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Barb detail 2.jpg
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Barb detail 1.jpg
Pinus coulteri MHNT.jpg
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Pinus coulteri Ice House Canyon.jpg

A view of the upper portion of a mature Coulter Pine.

ReferencesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

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External linksEdit

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