Western White Pine
(Pinaceae Pinus monticola)
Adopted on February 13, 1935.
The Western White Pine, Pinaceae
Pinus monticolathe, state tree, is
probably most notable since the largest
remaining volume of this timber in the
United States grows in the northern part
of Idaho. White Pine has many fine
qualities such as straight grain and
soft even texture. Adopted by the 1935
legislature.
Idaho Statutes TITLE 67
STATE GOVERNMENT AND STATE AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 45
67-4504. STATE TREE DESIGNATED. The
White Pine (Pinus Monticolae) is
hereby designated and declared to be
the state tree of the state of
Idaho.
STATE TREE
Idaho Session Laws, 1935, page 35.
AN ACT, DESIGNATING THE WHITE PINE
AS THE STATE TREE OF THE STATE OF
IDAHO.
WHEREAS, the members of Ellen Wright
Camp, Franklin County Chapter,
Daughters of Pioneers, by
resolution, have asked that the
White Pine be designated as the
state tree of the State of Idaho.
NOW THEREFORE:
Be it Enacted by the Legislature of
the State of Idaho:
Section 1. The White Pine (Pinus
Monticolae) is hereby designated and
declared to be the state tree of the
State of Idaho.
Approved February 13, 1935.
The Western White Pine is probably
most notable since the largest remaining
volume of this timber in the United
States grows in the northern part of
Idaho.
Western white pine (Pinus monticola),
also called mountain white pine, Idaho
white pine, or silver pine, is an
important timber tree. Its lightweight,
nonresinous, straight-grained wood
exhibits dimensional stability that
makes it particularly valuable for sash,
frames, and doors, interior paneling,
building construction, match wood, and
toothpicks. Western white pine grows
rapidly to a large size; one of the
largest standing trees measures 200 cm
(78.6 in) in d.b.h. and 72.8 m (239 ft)
tall in the mountains near Medford, OR.
Description:
- Leaf: Acicular, 2 to 4
inches long, fascicles of 5,
blue-green with white lines of
stomatal bloom on two of the three
needle surfaces, persist 3 to 4
years, bundle sheath is deciduous,
apex blunt.
- Flower: Monoecious; male
cones are small, yellow, and
clustered near the tips of branches;
female cones are larger, almost
round, greenish-pink in color, and
clustered near the tips of branches
in the upper parts of the crown.
- Fruit: Large cylindrical
woody cones, 5 to 12" long, thin and
curved. Brown when mature; scales
thin and unarmed, typically tipped
with globs of white resin; very
short stalk.
- Twig: Moderately stout
and grayish-brown.
- Bark: Initially thin and
grayish-green later becoming up to 2
inches thick, gray to purplish-gray
and broken into square or
rectangular blocks, not ridged and
furrowed. Dark bands commonly
encircle the tree where whorls of
branches have fallen off.
- Form: Tall, straight,
evergreen conifer growing to 180
feet tall and 4 feet in diameter
with an open crown, long up-raised
branches near the top (horizontal
lower down); bole commonly free of
branches for half its length.
Taxonomic Hierarchy
|
Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta -- Vascular
plants |
Superdivision |
Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
Division |
Magnoliophyta – Flowering
plants |
Class |
Pinopsida – |
Order |
Pinales – |
Family |
Pinaceae – Pine family |
Genus |
Pinus L. – pine |
Species |
Pinus monticola
Dougl. ex D. Don – western
white pine |
Source:
Dendrology at Virginia Tech
U.S. Department of Agriculture
|