Tree of the Week: A native California pine by the name of Jeffrey
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The Jeffrey Pine -- Pinus jeffreyi
Most trees discussed here are widely distributed in the Los Angeles area. The Jeffrey pine is an exception: it is mainly confined to the mountains (Sunset Garden Book Zones 14-19), and while it occasionally grows at lower elevations, it likes to be far above 1600 feet.
The Scottish botanist and plant hunter John Jeffrey discovered this native Californian near Mount Shasta in 1852. Originally it was thought to be a variety of the Ponderosa pine, a well-known timber pine, but later it became clear that, while related, it is a separate species. It will grow on more extreme sites than the Ponderosa pine, the needles are less bright green, the heavier cones lack spines, the bark is more reddish brown and, due to the unusual composition of its resin, it smells distinctly of vanilla (some say pineapple), which the Ponderosa’s bark does not.
The Jeffrey pine grows moderately fast to a stately, rather open, 60 to 120 feet tall, 20 to 25 feet wide and 400- to 500-year-old tree, but on excellent soil and with high precipitation it can reach over 170 feet tall with a 6-foot trunk diameter. Supported by a deep taproot and a strong root system, it will endure harsh sites, infertile soils, drought and freezing cold. Almost all the wood produced goes into the straight and thick trunk; the horizontal branches are small in diameter while the scaly bark is silvery to purplish-reddish brown. The soft-looking, 5- to 10-inch-long, blue-green needles are borne in bunches of threes. Inconspicuous flowers appear every two to eight years in June and July on older trees; the female ones develop the next year into 6- to 12-inch-long, oval, reddish-brown, almost stalkless cones with inward curving spiny tips. Seeds are edible.
The Jeffrey pine loves the company but not the competition of other trees yet is intolerant of shade. It is moderately resistant to fire, and may suffer some from several diseases and pests such as the witches-broom-like dwarf mistletoe. In its habitats it supports a multitude of birds, squirrels and other animals.
The tree is often seen in bonsai displays. Its pitch was distilled for turpentine at an earlier time or used for medicinal purposes. Commercially there is no distinction between Ponderosa and Jeffrey pine.
--Pieter Severynen
Thoughts? Comments?