Pinus albicaulis

Botanical Description

Pinus albicaulis is an evergreen tree with a conic crown that becomes rounded to irregularly spreading with age; it can grow up to 21 metres tall. The bole is up to 150cm in diameter, it can be straight and cylindrical or twisted and contorted[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. ]. The plant is reduced to a prostrate gnarled mat at the highest elevations and exposures, the best specimens being found at lower elevations in sheltered canyons[ 229 Title The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Publication Author Elias. T. Publisher Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. Year 1980 ISBN 0442238622 Description A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions. ]. The tree is harvested from the wild for mainly local use as a food and source of materials. Pinus albicaulis is experiencing serious decline due to White Pine Blister Rust and Mountain Pine Beetle. In areas where these pests are both present the decline in population numbers and population resilience is such that population sustainability in the long-term is predicted to decrease. Although concrete figures cannot be given for the entire range of the species, a decline rate of 50% as a minimum figure, incorporating both past decline (past 100 years) and suspected future decline (next 80 years), is reasonable. The plant is classified as 'Endangered' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].