Whitebark pine -- Pinus albicaulis

Pronunciation: pie’-nus al’-bih-kal-is

Leaves: acicular, fascicles of 5, 1” to 2 ¾”, persistent, similar to limber pine

Cones: 1 ½” - 3 ¼” long, ovoid-globose, purplish-brown; scales are thick with a terminal umbo, and armed, serotinous, with wingless seeds, and disintegrate when mature

Bark: Young: silvery white to greenish gray

Old: dark brown to black - rectangular, scaly plates

Other: 5,000’ - 11,000’ (northern Rocky Mountains, Cascades, B.C.)

Has “krummholz” (crooked wood) and alpine scrub forms

Susceptible to bark beetles and white pine blister rust

Occurs in pure or in mixed stands with Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, and lodgepole pine

Important food source for Clark’s nutcracker and grizzly bears

Non-commercial species

Ghost Forest - Montana PBS video whitebark pine conservation in the Cascades