Limber Pine, Rocky mountain white pine
Pinus flexilis

Family: Pinaceae

What it is like

A soft pine. It can be 12 m high and the trunk 60 cm across. The tree can spread 6 m wide. The bark is smooth and pale grey when young. It becomes rough, dark brown and with wide scaly plates with age. The leaves are in clusters of 5. The needles remain on the tree for 5-6 years. The cones are narrowly oval and are 8-20 cm long. They have very short stalks and are at right angles to the stem. There are 40-70 scales which are slightly thickened at the tip. They are spoon shaped without prickles. They open on the tree at maturity to release the seeds. The cones are shed during winter.

There are over 100 species of Pinus.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. In Canada and the rockies it grows from 1000 m altitude to the tree line. It normally grows on dry, rocky, exposed slopes. It will grow on a variety of soils. It suits high altitude snow zones. Hobart Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 4-7. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Australia, Canada, Mexico, North America, Tasmania, USA

How it is used for food

The seeds are roasted and eaten. The can be ground, shell and all.

Edible parts

Seeds, nuts

How it is grown

It is slow growing and long lived. It can live for several hundred years. There are good seed crops every 2-4 years.

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Apinus flexilis (E. James) Rydb.;