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Limber
Pine
Common
Name(s):
Limber Pine
Scientific
Name:
Pinus
flexilis James
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
None known
Symbol:
PIFL2
Description:
Life Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Evergreen
Growth Characteristics:
Limber
pine is a small to medium sized tree, averaging 20 inches in diameter
and 40 feet tall. Slow growing, long-lived species, sometimes taking
several hundred years to reach maturity. Mature trees may exceed
1000 years of age. The central trunk is usually distorted, many
branched, and twisted. Limber pine reproduces entirely from seed.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Male
flowers are small, reddish cone-like structures, while female flowers
are large woody cones. Both cone types are separate but found on
the same tree. Mature seed cones grown on short stalks to an average
length of 6 inches. Cone scales are thick and rigid. Tips of the
scales are generally somewhat reflexed and smooth. Cones open when
mature and the seeds fall free.
Fruits/Seeds:
Seeds are small, hard-shelled nuts, about 1/3 inch long, without
attached wings.
Leaves: Needle-like
in "bundles" of five, 1 ½ to 3 inches long, stout,
rigid, and curved. They persist on twigs for 5 to 6 years. Buds
are broadly oval and pointed, near ½ inch in length.
Stems: Twigs
are characteristically thick, often ½ inch in diameter near
the tip, tough, and flexible. These are so flexible that they can
often be tied in a knot without breaking. This characteristic gives
rise to its common and species name. Bark on twigs is smooth and
light gray. Trunk bark is thick and smooth on young stems, whitish
gray in color. On the older trunks, it may reach 2 inches in thickness,
becoming broken into nearly square plates by deep fissures. Plate
surfaces are covered with dark brown to black flattened scales.
Wood of limber pine is soft, generally quite weak, and white in
color.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Limber
pine grows across a wider range of elevations that any other tree
species in the central Rocky Mountains, inhabiting some of the driest
sites capable of supporting trees. Most often found in more open
and dry environments, and is typical on exposed, rocky mountainsides.
It may be found in Utah from low elevations of about 4,000 feet
right up to timberline near 11,000 feet. Reaches maturity in 200
to 300 years.
Soils: Limber
pine is often reported growing on calcareous soil . It is also reported
on soils derived from many other types of parent material.
Associated Species:
Ponderosa
pine, lodgepole pine, aspen,
snowberry, bristlecone pine, Engelmann
spruce.
Uses and
Management:
This
tree has little commercial value, but has been used considerably
in the past for mine props and, in the late 1800's, for railroad
ties. It has been used locally for fuel.
The large, wingless seeds of limber pine have high energy content.
Pine "nuts" provide critical food for rodents and birds,
which cache the seeds for later use. Other small mammals and birds
benefit from these caches. Bears also feed from caches. Bighorn
sheep use open stands on ridges. Difficult access and low grass
production result in low forage value of limber pine stands for
livestock.
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