A conifer is a type of tree or shrub characterized by needle-like leaves and bearing reproductive structures called cones. Most conifers are evergreen, although some are deciduous. Typical conifers include the cypresses, pines, cedars, spruces, Douglas Firs, firs and yews. Conifers, widely used for wood products, are also called, as a group, softwoods.

In this exhibit, some Sierra Nevada conifers are shown.  Pictures of the trees and their cones are presented.

 

PONDEROSA PINE
Pinus ponderosa

Ponderosa pine is a tall, open-growing evergreen that seems to represent the unconquered spirit and wide-open country of the American West.  Ponderosas grow in sunny canyons and on mountainsides throughout the West and eastward into Central Nebraska.  They form the leading edge of the coniferous forest because they have a high resistance to drought.  An average Ponderosa is between 120 to 180 feet tall, 2 to 6 feet wide, and can survive for roughly 600 years.  Mature ponderosa pines are easily identified by yellow-orange bark arranged in large plates, while young trees have very dark bark.  The needles are found generally 3 to each bundle.

 

JEFFERY PINE
Pinus jeffreyi

The Jeffrey pine closely resembles the ponderosa pine but differs in its cone shape and size, distinctive butterscotch or vanilla-smelling bark, and its distribution.  The cones are large, more rounded, and the prickles turned inward, not outward like on the ponderosa (“prickly ponderosa- gentle Jeffrey”).  The Jeffrey pine exists at slightly higher elevations in the Sierra than the ponderosa.

 

MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK
Tsuga mertensiana

This graceful tree lives at high elevations in the sub- alpine where snow lingers well into summer.  It forms small open groves commonly found in sheltered areas on north and east-facing slopes.  Its nodding tip and short, bristle-like needles easily identify this tree.  Widely distributed throughout the west, it is found in California’s Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges, Klamaths, and the Cascades.

 

WESTERN JUNIPER
Juniperus occidentalis

The picturesque western juniper anchors itself to sites that lack soil, growing its roots into crevices of rock.  Western juniper has the ability to tolerate extreme exposure to blizzards and summer drought in which other conifers cannot survive.  This beautiful conifer is a gnarled, burly little tree of dry rocky sites in the High Sierra and Eastern Oregon.  Distinctive features of western juniper include minute scale-like leaves on bushy boughs and blue berry-like cones.  Rich blue berry-like fruits mature in the fall and cling to the trees all winter forming an excellent food supply for mountain birds.

 

INCENSE CEDAR
Calocedrus decurrens

The striking features of older incense-cedar trees are their rapidly tapering trunks with widely buttressed bases and cinnamon-brown, deeply furrowed, stringy bark.  The crowns of large trees are very open and irregular, consisting of widely spaced branches with dense tufts of light yellow-green foliage.  The scale-like leaves of this tree are compressed closely to the branch forming “sprays,” which fall together to the ground.  The small, beak-like cones are unusual in size and shape; look for them adhering to the ends of the sprays.  Occurring throughout the Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest, incense cedar inhabits fertile mountain slopes, plateaus, valleys and borders of streams.  It also extends into southern Oregon, western Nevada and Baja California.

 

GIANT SEQUOIA
Sequoiadendron giganteum

Elegant and statuesque, the giant sequoia inspires all who see it.  Exceedingly long-lived, up to 3,500 years, the giant sequoia is also known to be quite tall and large in diameter.  The General Sherman tree in King’s Canyon/ Sequoia National Park is one of the largest organisms on earth, standing 272 feet high and 27.5 feet in diameter.  Residing only in the groves along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, the giant sequoia had a far wider distribution in the geologic past with fossils having been found throughout the Northern Hemisphere.  The awl-shaped leaves, egg-shaped cones, and cinnamon-colored bark distinguished this tree from all others.

 

FOXTAIL PINE
Pinus balfouriana

A hardy pine of the sub-alpine is the Foxtail pine, which derives its common name from the way in which the short needles densely cover the ends of the branches all around like a bottle brush or fox’s tail.  An interesting aspect of this species is that it has a disjunctive distribution; it is found in the northern Coast Ranges of California and within portions of southern Sierra Nevada.

 

WHITEBARK PINE
Pinus albicaulis

The stout whitebark pine lives near timberline, where it is subject to fierce winter storms and desiccating summer winds.  It tends to grow slowly, approximately 1 inch per year.  In protected sites, the whitebark is generally upright with a multi-stemmed trunk; however, many are prostrate in form, which is possibly an adaptation to survival in these harshest of climates.  Encountering the cones on the ground is a rare find; they are usually enjoyed by a host of forest dwellers at this elevation, including nutcrackers and squirrels.  The range of this species includes most of the sub-alpine belt in the Sierra from Mt. Whitney to Mt. Shasta and through the Rockies.

 

SUGAR PINE
Pinus lambertiana

Sugar pine is the tallest, largest and most magnificent of all the 100 species of pines.  It dominates many acres of mountain forests, growing on the Western Slope of the Sierra, usually under moist conditions in elevations between 4500 and 7500 feet.  Dangling like Christmas ornaments from the tips of upper limbs, the cones average a foot in length and can weight up to 4 pounds.  The needles are found 5 to each bundle.

 

FOOTHILL OR GREY PINE
Pinus sabiniana

This irregular looking pine is a common associate of the lower oak woodland throughout the foothills of California.  Found thriving in a variety of harsh, hot climates and poor soils, the foothill pine may be found traversing fault zones where serpentine rock is abundant.  Its sparse grayish-green foliage and spreading upper trunk seems a good adaptation to the avoidance of summer heat in this area.  The seeds inside the large, dangerous-looking cones are a staple food for squirrels, woodpeckers, jays and other birds.

 

RED FIR
Abies manifica

Red fir grows to be 60 to 175 feet in height with a trunk 4 feet in diameter.  Its crown at maturity is short, narrow and round-topped.  The branches of red fir trees, save the topmost, are curved down, and then curved up at the ends.  Its foliage is a dense dark blue-green color.  Red fir cones are oval, brown, have scales with upturned edges, and are about 4 to 8 inches by 2.5 to 3.5 inches in size.  These cones are more fragile than most other cones and since their cone scales and seeds fall directly from the tree, whole cones are rarely found.  Red firs can be found around wet meadows and on moist slopes, rocky ridges or plateaus at elevations between 5,000 to 9,000 feet.

 

SINGLE-LEAF PINYON PINE
Pinus monophylla

Unique among all American pine species, having single needles, these small, rounded trees generally occur on the dry, exposed slopes of the Sierra’s east side.  The pinyon pine is an exceedingly slow-growing tree, reaching only 25 feet in height over an average life span from 100 to 225 years.  A staple diet for birds and mammals in these sites, the pinyon “nuts” are extensively harvested and sold it stores as “pignolias” or “pine nuts”.

 

BIG-CONE DOUGLAS-FIR
Pseudotsuga macrocarpa

The narrowly endemic big-cone Douglas-fir looks nearly identical to the more wide-ranging Douglas-fir.  Found only in the southern outer Coast Ranges and along the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges, this species is distinguishable from Douglas-fir only by its large cone size.

 

DOUGLAS-FIR
Preudotsuga menziesii

Douglas-fir is a magnificent forest tree 70-250 feet in height, with trunk diameters reaching 4 to 8 feet.  This “false hemlock” inhabits fertile mountain slopes, moist canyons and rocky ridges along north or east facing slopes.  It is found in association with native Sierra conifers, coast range forests, and redwood forests in California, but is also found from the Rocky Mountains into coastal British Columbia.  The Douglas-fir can be distinguished by its long, drooping branches and cones with exerted bracts, resembling mouse tails or lizard tongues.

 

WHITE FIR
Abies concolor

The white fir is commonly in the mixed conifer forests throughout California.  The pale green, pitchy cones grow near the tops of the tree where they remain until they mature.  The scales and seeds are shed directly from the cone, raining down on the ground in individual pieces.  Its distinctive needles arranged in a flattened distribution along the stem can identify the white fir.

 

LODGEPOLE PINE
Pinus contorta var. murrayana

Distributed throughout California’s Sierra Nevada, the lodgepole pine has close relatives in the Rockies and the Coast Range of California.  A narrow, fairly straight trunk and “cornflake” bark identify this tree of montane forests.  The trees often grow close together in fairly thick pockets at meadow edges, moist slopes, and broad ridges.  The cones are often gathered and utilized in wreaths and other decorative arrangements.

 

KNOBCONE PINE
Pinus attenuata

This small, short-lived pine is found in few patches within the harsher, barren and rocky soils within the foothills of the Sierra and Coastal Ranges.  It ranges from 2500 to 5000 feet in elevation.  This tree commonly inhabits sites which experience frequent fires.  The cones are serotinous; they adhere to the tree and remain closed until either physically removed or subject to heat.

 

WESTERN BRISTLE-CONE PINE
Pinus longaeva

These exceedingly uncommon trees of the White and Inyo Mountains of south-eastern California have the distinction of being the oldest known living organism in the world.  The name is derived from the “bristle-tips” on the ends of the cone scales.  They live 4,000 to 4,500 years.  Rugged and serene in form, these trees are often found twisted and bent, exposed to the elements from their high elevation perch.

 

WESTERN WHITE PINE
Pinus monticola

Resembling a smaller, less stately version of the sugar pine, the western white pine may be found in isolated patches within the red fir or sub-alpine belt throughout California.  Its height ranges from 90 to 100 feet and has a diameter between 2 to 4 feet.  A long-lived tree, the western white pine ranges in age from 200 to 500 years.  Compare the cones of this species to the sugar pine cones.

 

LIMBER PINE
Pinus flexilis

This rather uncommon tree of the High sierra is rarely seen because of its inaccessibility.  This tree usually is fairly stunted in form and derives its name from the rather flexible branches that end in dense tufts of needles.  This pine is widely distributed throughout Western North America, however it only occurs on Mountain peaks at sub-alpine elevations above 10,000 feet.

All images courtesy of the Sierra College Natural History Museum.