Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
The knobcone pine, Pinus attenuata (also called Pinus tuberculata),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="Moore2008">Template:Cite book</ref>
DescriptionEdit
Individual specimens can live up to a century.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> The crown is usually conical with a straight trunk. It reaches heights of Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Gymnosperm Database</ref> but can be a shrub on especially poor sites. The bark is thin and smooth, flaky and gray-brown when young, becoming dark<ref name=":0" /> gray-red-brown and shallowly furrowed into flat scaly ridges in age. The twigs are red-brown and often resinous. Its wood is knotty and of little interest for lumber.<ref name=":0" />
The leaves are in fascicles of three,<ref>eNature Field Guides (2007) Knobcone Pine</ref> needle-like, yellow-green, twisted, and Template:Convert long. The cones are resin-sealed and irregularly shaped,<ref name=":0" /> Template:Convert long and clustered in whorls of three to six on the branches. The scales end in a short stout prickle. Cones can sometimes be found attached to the trunk and larger branches.<ref name=":0" />
- Pinaceae Knobcone Pine Pinus attenuata.jpg
Leaves
- H20130601-8518—Pinus attenuata—Walker Ridge (9233604022).jpg
male cones
- Pinus attenuata BLM7.jpg
Cones
- Knobcone Pine Cone.jpg
Knobcone pine cone
- Pinus attenuata Big Basin 5.jpg
Plant
- Pinus attenuata Big Basin 4.jpg
Habitat
DistributionEdit
The knobcone pine can be found growing in the dry, rocky soils of southern Oregon and northern California, between Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name=":0" /> It forms nearly pure stands, preferring to grow where there is no competition.<ref name=":0" />
EcologyEdit
On the coast, the knobcone pine may hybridize with bishop pine (Pinus muricata), and Monterey pine (Pinus radiata).
In the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada, knobcone pine is often a co-dominant with blue oak (Quercus douglasii).<ref>Hogan, C. Michael (2008). Blue Oak: Quercus douglasii, GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg</ref>
The species is susceptible to fire, but this melts the cone resin, releasing seeds for regrowth.<ref name=":0" /> The species seems to be shade intolerant.<ref name=":0" />
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Bakker, Elna S. (1971). An island called California. University of California press (1972). Template:ISBN