A tough pioneer growing where few trees survive, thriving on exposed, wet ground in its native range. This makes it important in European upland afforestation, especially on wet peat in Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia where few other commercial crops succeed. Introduced 1853.
The most widely distributed conifer in Pacific North America, found across Yukon, British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, and Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Colorado and Utah in the USA. It thrives in harsh mountains and subalpine forests, from sea level to the treeline (3,600m). Lower down it grows with Ponderosa Pine, Douglas-fir and Aspen.
An inland subspecies and close relative of Shore Pine. In its native range it excels at recolonising after wildfire, soon dominating hillsides. It bears serotinous cones that stay closed in the crown, storing viable seed for years and usually needing fire’s heat to release it. Monoecious, with heavier seed crops every 3-5 years.
Slender and tall (30m) with a narrow crown, the stem often forked. Bark dull brown-black in flaky square plates. Buds lack free scale tips. Needles in pairs, 6-10cm, mid-green and twisted; terminal bud long and blunt. Slender cones to 5cm, slightly prickly. It differs from Scots, Shore and Corsican Pines in bud, needle, bark and cone details.
Grows well on exposed, waterlogged, cold sites and tolerates salt, so it suits coasts and gritted roadsides. On the hardest sites it is grown pure, on easier ones as a companion for Sitka Spruce, though it is not shade-tolerant. Choosing the right provenance matters, avoiding southern ones; interior origins tolerate drought, coastal ones are vigorous but wind- and snow-prone. Shallow-rooted, it can blow over after thinning.
Its mid-twentieth-century use to afforest moorland, especially peat, later caused controversy among conservationists in Britain, Ireland and Sweden. Outside its native range no specific wildlife depends on it, though large Welsh plantations have sustained Red Squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). It shelters and provides nest sites for birds and mammals in exposed places, and can be invasive in Caledonian pinewoods.
Red-band needle blight affects trees, especially when densely grown. Deer are drawn to the foliage and can strip bark. In its native range, Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks have devastated huge areas of the southern Rocky Mountains.
Its common name comes from Native American use of it to build and support lodges and tipis. The straight-grained timber is easy to work and glue, showing distinctive dimples in its figure unlike other pines. Used for construction and interior carcass work. Non-durable.
