Ponderosa pine

Pinus ponderosa is a dominant tree in the Kuchler plant association, the Ponderosa shrub forest. Like most western pines, the ponderosa is associated with mountainous topography. It is found on the Black Hills and on foothills and mid-height peaks of the northern, central and southern Rocky Mountains as well as the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, and the Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests.

Pinus ponderosa is a yellow pine, rather than white, although each pine is similar in properties. The heartwood is yellow or light brown with straight grains and uniform texture with little tendency to warp or twist (USDA 2005). Trees are straight with a pyramidal crown. Twigs and bark are an orange gray color and rough, twigs are not glaucous. More

Pinus ponderosa and Abies concolor (on the left); Nevada, Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort Cultivated - Pinus ponderosa subsp. More