Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine

Rocky Mtn. bristlecone pine

Tree: to 45′ and 3′ DBH

Bark: bark gray to red-brown, shallowly fissured, with long, flat, irregular ridges.

Needles: 1”- 1.5”, 5 per bundle, deep blue-green, with drops and scales of resin

Seed Cones: 3”- 4.5”, maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter

Habitat: dry, south-facing slopes, 7,000’- 12,000′, generally exposed, in evenly spaced forests

Observations: Montane to subalpine areas of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona (the San Francisco Peaks)