Central Rocky Mountains

5 Needle Pine Regional Key

This region includes the Central Rocky Mountain, encompassing Colorado and Wyoming, and small areas of western Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Four species of 5 needle pine are known to occur in this region: Whitebark Pine (Pinus albicaulis), Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata), Limber pine (Pinus flexilis), and Southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis). Note that Limber pine is the only 5 needle pine in western Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Also, Limber Pine and Whitebark Pine are the only 5 needle pines known to occur in Wyoming. A dichotomous key to the 5 needle pines of this region is provided below. Many of leads in the key follow from Kral et al. (2022). Photos of seed cones of the 5 needle pines in this region are presented below the key.

Pinus aristata (Colorado Bristle Cone Pine). Photo by Mike Jones CCBY-NC.
Pinus flexilis (Limber Pine). Photo by Neil Frakes CCBY-NC.
Pinus strobiformis (Southwestern white pine). Photo by Camden Bruner CCBY-NC-ND
Whitebark pine cones in the tree and partially pulled apart by Clark’s nutcracker. Photo by jaredmanninen CC BY-NC 4.0
Photos of seeds cones of 5 needle pines in the Central Rocky Mountain region.

Literature Cited

Kral, R. 2022. Pinus. In: Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. 22+ vols. New York and Oxford. Vol. 2. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Pinus. Accessed [2022-09-11].

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