Pine, Ponderosa

Pinus ponderosa, commonly called Ponderosa pine, is the dominant pine tree of the western U.S.
It usually grows best at elevations of 4000-8500 feet.
It is native primarily to mountain areas from British Columbia to Mexico east to North Dakota, Nebraska and Texas.
It is the State Tree of Montana.
It often grows in pure stands.
This is a large conifer (ponderous as the species and common names suggest) that typically grows in a conical form to 60-125’ in cultivation, but may reach 225’ tall or more in the wild.
In the western U.S., only the sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) grows taller.
Ponderosa pine trunks grow to 4’ in diameter.
Trees may live to 600 years.
Dark yellow-green needles (5-10” long) in bundles of three (infrequently bundles of two) are concentrated in tufts at the branch ends.
Oval cones (4-6” long) grow upright, but turn upside down at muturity to release seed.
Bark on young trees is dark brown to black.
Bark on mature trees is bright yellowish-brown to reddish-orange and irregularly furrowed into large scaly plates.
Trunk, broken twigs and needles emit a resinous aroma.
This is an important timber tree