Go to Keys to Identifying Selected Plant Groups in the SGMPine Primer for the San Gabriel Mountains
Key
Descriptions
SourcesPines are recognized by their evergreen, long, round, and thin needle-like leaves found in bundles wrapped in a papery sheath or sleeve.
These are the pine tree species native to the San Gabriel Mountains. If you find a pine that does not fit anything in the key or descriptions, chances are you found it along a paved road, or at a camp or picnic ground and the tree has been planted by the US Forest Service.
Bark texture and color change with age; texture is smooth and color is light when young, aging to rough, scaly and furrowed in texture and darker in color when old.
The number of records is an rough indicator of frequency. You are almost sure to see those with the largest number of observation records. Those with few records, in this case, are difficult to get to!
In the key below, remember that the leaves are needle-like.
1. Is there only one leaf in the bundle? Key
- Yes. It is Pinyon Pine Pinus monophylla
- No. Go to 2.
2. Are there two leaves in the bundle?
3. Are there three leaves in the bundle?
- Yes. It is Lodgepole Pine Pinus contorta subspecies murrayana.
- No. Go to 3.
5. Are the leaves less than 2" in length and in dense tufts near the ends of the branches?
- Yes. Are the leaves somewhat longer than the span of an adult hand (more than 10 inches) and the cones very large with big hooks?
- Yes. Is the trunk forked and the foliage wispy?
- Yes. It is Gray Pine Pinus sabiniana.
- No. It is Coulter Pine Pinus coulteri.
- No. Go to 4.
4. Does the cone feel very prickly when squeezed between both hands?
- Yes. It is Ponderosa Pine Pinus ponderosa.
- No. It is Jeffrey Pine Pinus jeffreyi.
- No. Go to 5.
- Yes. It is Limber Pine Pinus flexilis
- No. It is Sugar Pine Pinus lambertiana
Descriptions
Pinus contorta subspecies murrayana
- Common name: Lodgepole pine, tamarack pine
- Leaf: number of needles=2; color=yellow-green; length= < 2"
- Cone: size=1-2"; shape=globular like a big walnut; scale=not prickly
- Bark: color=gray; texture=cornflakes
- Profile: tall, slender, straight
- Elevation range: 7500' - 9350'
- Locations: Dawson Saddle turnout on Angeles Crest Highway, Mt. Baden-Powell, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: found only above 7500' in San Gabriels
- Number of records: 7
- Common name: Coulter pine, "widow maker"
- Leaf: number of needles=3; color=gray-green; length=12-14" erect
- Cone: size=12-14"; shape=broadly conical; scale=very prickly, large hooks
- Bark: color=dark brown; texture=furrowed with wide scaly ridges
- Profile: broad pyramid
- Elevation range: 2500' - 7500'
- Locations: Angeles Crest Highway mile marker 46, Devil Peak, Charlton Flat, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: grows at lowest elevation of all pines in the SGM; grows only in the eastern section; longest pine needles and heaviest pine cone in world
- Number of records: 18
- Common name: Limber pine
- Leaf: number of needles=5; color=dark yellow-green; length=1-2½"
- Cone: size=3-10; shape=oblong; scale=not prickly; short stalked
- Bark: color=grayish white to dark brown; texture=plates with thin scales
- Profile: broad crown, short trunk; forked branches whorled and upswept
- Elevation range: 8500' - 10,000'
- Locations: Mt. Baden-Powell, Mt. Baldy, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: flexible gray branches can be tied in knots; occurs only on Mt. Baden-Powell and Mt. Baldy, the highest elevation of any pine in San Gabriels
- Number of records: 3
- Common name: Jeffrey pine
- Leaf: number of needles=3; color=grayish blue-green; length=5-10"
- Cone: size=4-8"; shape=long oval; scale=not prickly
- Bark: color=reddish brown; texture=narrow plates, deep furrows, jigsaw puzzle flakes
- Profile: very tall, columnar
- Elevation range: 5400' - 8500'
- Locations: Angeles Crest Highway mile marker 54, Charlton Flat, Chilao, Grassy Hollow, Lightning Ridge, Mt. Williamson, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: bark very fragrant like vanilla or pineapple; most common pine in San Gabriels
- Number of records: 30
- Common name: Sugar pine
- Leaf: number of needles=5; color=deep green; length=2½-4"
- Cone: size=12-18"; shape=cylindrical; scale=not prickly; long stalked
- Bark: color=grayish to purplish-brown; texture=ridges with thin scales
- Profile: ragged and uneven; horizontal branches with cones at tips
- Elevation range: 6000' - 9800'
- Locations: Buckhorn Springs, Cloudburst Summit, Mt. Wilson, Sawmill Pk, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: tallest pine tree and longest pine cones in world; often glistening with sugary sap
- Number of records: 23
- Common name: Pinyon pine, single-leaf pinyon pine
- Leaf: number of needles=1; color=gray; length=2"
- Cone: size=3-5"; shape=more or less spherical; scale=not prickly
- Bark: color=dull gray to dark brown; texture=narrow flat ridges to rough and furrowed
- Profile: divided trunk; low and rounded
- Elevation range: 3700' - 6100'
- Locations: Mt. Lowe, Big Pines Highway, Big Rock Creek, Angeles Forest Highway through Kentucky Springs Canyon, Una Lake, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: pine nuts edible; found mainly on the desert side of the San Gabriels; only single-leaf pine in world
- Number of records: 30
- Common name: Ponderosa pine, western yellow pine
- Leaf: number of needles=3; color=dark yellow-green; length=5-10"
- Cone: size=2-5"; shape=oval; scale=prickly
- Bark: color=yellowish brown; texture=broad plates with shallow furrows and jigsaw puzzle scales
- Profile: tall, columnar
- Elevation range: 5200' - 5500'
- Locations: Sawmill Peak, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: hybridizes readily with Jeffrey pine
- Number of records: 4
- Common name: Gray, foothill, or digger pine
- Leaf: number of needles=3; color=gray; length=12" drooping
- Cone: size=6-10"; shape=conical; scale=very prickly, large hooks
- Bark: color=gray to dark brown; texture=vertically furrowed with scaly ridges
- Profile: spindly, forked trunk, thin, wispy foliage
- Elevation range: 3000' - 4400'
- Locations: Elizabeth Lake vicinity, Liebre Mtn., Pine Canyon Road, unspecified Angeles National Forest
- Comments: found only in the extreme northwest section of the San Gabriels
- Number of records: 9
Sources and Other Information
CalFlora Occurrence Database. A search for Pinus in Los Angeles County yielded 120 observation records for the San Gabriel Mountains.
Conifers of California by Ronald M. Lanner. Cachuma Press, 1999.
Native Conifers of North America - California Conifers by Nearctica
A California Flora by Philip A. Munz. University of California Press, 1968.
Roadside Plants of Southern California by Thomas J. Belzer. Mountain Press Publishing Company, 1984.
Sierra Nevada Natural History by Tracy I. Storer and Robert L. Usinger. University of California Press, 1963.
Copyright © 2000-2001 by Jane Strong and Tom Chester.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to us at this source:
http://tchester.org/sgm/plants/keys/pine.html
Comments and feedback: Jane Strong | Tom Chester
Updated 11 December 2001.
