whitebark pine Pinaceae Pinus albicaulis

Leaf:Evergreen needles, short (1 to 3 inches long), rigid, fascicles of 5, clustered near the ends of branches, green to yellow-green, with indistinct lengthwise rows of stomatal bloom. Remain on tree for 4 to 8 years.
Flower:Species is monoecious; male cones are pinkish, turning yellow-brown in tight clusters; female cones are deep red to purple.
Fruit:Small woody cone (1 1/2 to 3 inches long), almost round; imbricate scales are thick, blunt, and pointed but unarmed; serotinous (remain on the tree for several years with ripened seeds inside); seeds are large and usually wingless.
Twig:Stout but very flexible, silvery-white to gray.
Bark:When young smooth and gray-white, later darkening and becoming scaly, rarely more than 1/2 inch thick; inner bark is reddish brown.
Form:Typically small (20 to 50 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet in diameter) and contorted by the wind and harsh growing conditions.

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