Virginia Tech Dendrology

Coulter pine Pinaceae Pinus coulteri D. Don symbol: PICO3
Leaf: Evergreen needles, 8 to 12 inches long, stiff and straight, in fascicles of 3, gray-green with lengthwise rows of stomatal bloom. Crowded near the ends of branches, persist 2 to 3 years.
Flower: Species is monoecious; male cones yellow in tight clusters; female cones dark red-brown.
Fruit: Very large (8 to 12 inches long), heavy, woody cone borne on a sturdy stalk, shiny yellow-brown; imbricate scales are long, thick, and sharply keeled, with a large, thick, flat, curved spine; the heaviest of all pine cones; seeds are very large and winged.
Twig: Stout, originally with a purple bloom turning green then orange-brown; buds are large, thick, sharp-pointed, and resinous.
Bark: Mature bark is dark gray to black, deeply furrowed with scaly ridges.
Form: Moderate sized evergreen tree (40 to 70 feet tall and up to 2 1/2 feet in diameter) with a thin, open, irregular crown. Branches often tipped with very large cones.
Looks like: gray pine - knobcone pine - Monterey pine - ponderosa pine

Additional Range Information: Pinus coulteri 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