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LOCAL TREES
| Many people come to our mountains and marvel at the beautiful trees that surround them. But what are these trees? Here's a brief overview of the most common trees that you will encounter as you travel through the area: EVERGREEN TREES: These are trees that stay green and keep their leaves or needles all year instead of shedding them in the colder months. SUGAR PINE (Pinus lambertiana) - click here. This is the largest of our local pine trees and can grow to staggering heights (sometimes over 250 feet tall and 11 feet in diameter). It also has the longest pine cones that can grow to over 2 feet long. The seeds from these cones each have a long 'wing' that help the seeds disperse in the wind and to burrow into the ground when they fall to the earth. The needles from this tree occur in bundles of 5. COULTER PINE (Pinus coulteri) - click here. The most easily distinguished feature of this pine tree are the massive pine cones. Their scales look menacing, almost claw-like, in my opinion. In fact, these large, heavy cones have earned the nickname "widow-maker" from lumberjacks who experienced these cones falling on them while logging. The pine nuts from these cones are large and delicious.The needles on this tree grow up to 12 inches long and are found in bundles of 3 needles each. JEFFREY PINE (Pinus jeffreyi) - click here. This is, quite possibly, my favorite pine tree because the bark of the mature trees smell like vanilla. Honest! I remember going fishing at Green Valley Lake as a child and smelling the trees. People must have thought I was one shy of a load! These trees have bundles of bluish needles that occur in 3's. The cones, when cupped tightly in your hands, do not prick you because the spine point downward. The bark of the mature Jeffrey looks much like large puzzle pieces which flake off. PONDEROSA PINE (Pinus ponderosa) - click here. The Ponderosa is quite similar to the Jeffrey in many respects. In fact, it was thought at one time that they were subspecies of the same tree. This, however, turned out to be false. This tree has cones that are a similar size and shape to the Jeffrey's cones, but the Ponderosa's WILL prick your hands in you cup them tightly because their spines point outward. The bark is also similar to the Jeffrey's, looking like large jigsaw puzzle pieces. PINION PINE KNOBCONE PINE (Pinus attenuata) - click here. This pine is easily distinguished from the others by it's pine cone. It is more conically-shaped and are clustered together in groups of 3 to 6 on the branches. These cones require the heat generated from fires to open and disperse their seeds. The needles on these trees are long and twisted and in bundles of 3. CANYON LIVE OAK (Quercus chrysolepsis) - click here. This oak tree is an evergreen and, therefore, does not shed it's leaves in the colder seasons. It does, though, have acorns like other deciduous forms of oak. The acorns of the Canyon Live Oak can be quite large and have very thick caps. The leaves on this tree and small, dark green and elliptical (on mature trees). The leaves on younger trees resemble holly. WHITE FIR (Abies concolor) - click here. When young, the bark of this tree is light grey and is covered with blisters filled with a very sticky resin. As mature trees, they have a thick, brown bark. Their needles are short, bluish-green and soft to the touch. They produce upright cylindrical cones that fall apart while still on the tree. INCENSE CEDAR (Calocedrus decurrens) - click here. These trees prefer the more shady areas of our mountains. They grow quite large, sometimes up to 150 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. The mature trees have a thick, fibrous bark that is a deep reddish-brown. The younger trees have "scales" of red-brown bark that strip off easily. The leaves of these trees form in over-lapping scales and are a bright green. GIANT SEQUOIA (Sequoiadendron giganteum) - click here. Mature Giant Sequoias are the largest trees in the world, averaging between from 200 feet to 270 feet in height and 6 feet to 15 feet in diameter. They can be massive. The leaves are sharp and pointed and have a bluish tint. Barrel-shaped cones occur at the ends of the branches. The bark of mature trees is thick, fibrous, and reddish. DECIDUOUS TREES: These are the trees responsible for the beautiful fall colors. The list below are native trees, though there have been others introduced as landscape trees that do quite well at this altitude and in this climate. PACIFIC DOGWOOD (Cornus nuttallii) - click here. This is a beautiful tree, easily one of my favorites. In the spring and summer it has large, lovely green leaves that make a very soothing sound when the wind passes through them. The leaves of this tree turn incredible shades of red and gold before falling to the forest floor in the fall. The bark of the Dogwood tree is smooth and dark brown. As the tree ages, the bark grows rough ridges. White 'flowers' bloom from April to June and sometimes again in September. Each flower has four to six white 'petals' with a notch at the top of each. The notch is a result of the notch you see on the purplish bud before the flower forms. In reality, each 'flower' is actually a cluster of tiny flowers inside the large white bracts. Inside, there are about 20 small greenish flowers. The white "flowers" don't fall off until the greenish flowers have been pollinated. Clusters of tightly-grouped berries develop from the flowers over the summer and by the end of August add red color to the tree. These berries provide food for many species of local and migrating birds including woodpeckers and band-tailed pigeons (but should not be consumed by humans). The Native Californians that inhabited our mountains (the Serranos) considered the acorn of the Black Oak to be the best tasting. Like other acorns, however, it had to be leached of the tannin held inside the acorn before it could be eaten. |