Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa
The stately pine of the dry interior West, with long needles, cinnamon-puzzle bark that smells of butterscotch in the sun, and fire-adapted open groves. A drought-tough giant. The mucilaginous inner bark is a traditional food, eaten fresh or dried and ground into flour.
- Family
- Pinaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 60–125 ft
- Spacing
- 25–30 ft apart
- Light
- sun, part shade, shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic
- Bloom
- April
- Bloom colors
- red, yellow
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~201 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- specimen
- Native states
- AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY
Related native plants
More Pinus species
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)
- Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)
- Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)
- Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda)
- Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis)