Pinus monticola
Common name: 
Western White Pine
Pronunciation: 
PI-nus mon-TI-ko-la
Family: 
Pinaceae
Genus: 
Type: 
Conifer
Native to (or naturalized in) Oregon: 
Yes
  • Conifer, evergreen tree, 100 ft (30 m), narrow, open, conical crown of horizontal branches.  Needles 5 per bundle, 5-10 cm long, slightly stout, blue-green, 4-5 white stomatal lines on inner surface, bundle sheath 18 mm long, shed first year.  Cones terminal, solitary or grouped 2-5, 13-23 cm long, narrowly cylindrical, mostly short stalked, pitchy, may drip pitch in warm weather; mature in the second season.  [In a landscape situation it may be difficult to distinguish it from Pinus strobus, (Eastearn White Pine), but P. monticola needles are stiffer, growth is more dense, and their cones tend to be larger.]
  • Sun
  • Hardy to USDA Zone 3      Native to the northern Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to Montana, also along Pacific Coast south through the Sierra Nevada to Central California.
  • Two cultivars:
    • 'Nana'  -  dwarf shrub, slow-growing, 2 ft tall × 2 ft wide (0.6 × 0.6 m) in 10 years, irregular shape, needles short
    • 'Pendula'  -  tree, 5-10 ft (1.5-3 m) in 10 years, very pendulus branches and a bowed stem
  • monticola: inhabiting mountains
Click image to enlarge
  • plant habit

    plant habit

  • branch with cone

    branch with cone

  • shoot, needles

    shoot, needles

  • needles

    needles

  • needles, emphasizing their fine texture

    needles, emphasizing their fine texture

  • needles, close-up

    needles, close-up

  • needle, close-up, comparison with P. strobus

    needle, close-up, comparison with P. strobus

  • spent and maturing seed cones

    spent and maturing seed cones

  • seed cone and pollen cones

    seed cone and pollen cones

  • maturing seed cones

    maturing seed cones

  • branch and mature cones

    branch and mature cones

  • trunk, bark

    trunk, bark