Idaho State Tree
Western White Pine
Pinaceae Pinus monticola
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.
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen,
Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson;Silvics reprinted from Ag
Handbook 654; range map source information