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Bishop pine Pinaceae Pinus muricata D. Don Listen to the Latin Print a QR link to this factsheet symbol: PIMU
Leaf: Evergreen needles, 4 to 6 inches long in fascicles of 2, stout, twisted, dull blue-green (northern populations) or yellow-green (southern populations).
Flower: Species is monoecious; males cylindrical, purple, in tight clusters at branch tips; females, reddish purple in groups of 3 or 4 at branch tips.
Fruit: Woody cone, 2 to 3 inches long, egg-shaped, assymetrical with thick spiny scales, often serotinous, clustered in rings around the branches and persistent for many years.
Twig: Moderately stout, reddish brown; buds large and reddish brown.
Bark: Initially smooth, reddish-gray, later becoming more gray and developing rounded, scaly ridges and becoming quite thick.
Form: Rounded crown with stout branches reaching 40 to 70 feet in height, often with a crooked single trunk.
 Looks like: knobcone pine - ponderosa pine - lodgepole pine - Monterey pine

Bishop pine leaf image
Bishop pine flower image
Bishop pine fruit image
Bishop pine twig image
Bishop pine bark image
Bishop pine form image
Bishop pine map image

Additional Range Information: Pinus muricata is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. Download the full-size PDF map.
External Links: USDAFS FEIS Silvics - USDA Plants Database
All material 2025 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen, Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson; Silvics reprinted from Ag Handbook 654; range map source information