E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. ponderosa
ponderosa pine
Pinaceae (Pine family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Distribution of Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa
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Species Information

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General:
Tree to 40-50 m tall; bark thick, deeply furrowed, dark reddish-brown or blackish when young, changing to cinnamon red when older and exfoliating as irregular scales.
Leaves:
Needles mostly in threes, often twos, occasionally fours or fives, (10) 12-20 (25) cm long, clustered towards branch ends; yellowish-green.
Cones:
Seed cones near branch tips, deep reddish-purple when young, maturing late in second year, turning brown; egg-shaped, 8-14 cm long; scales brown with thickened, yellowish, prickly tip; pollen cones yellow to purplish, strongly clustered.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry slopes, river terraces and flats in the steppe and montane zones; common in SC and SE BC; S to CA, NM, TX, NE, and SD.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 220 781 1896
Slope Gradient (%) 0 31 244
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		0 199 360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		0 2 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 1818
Modal BEC Zone Class
 IDF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BG(154), ESSF(10), ICH(162), IDF(863), MS(34), PP(540)

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Pinus beardsleyi A. Murray
Pinus benthamiana Hartw.
Pinus brachyptera Engelm.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Pinaceae
 Flora North America treatment for Pinus ponderosa
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2026-01-14 5:43:48 PM ]
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