* Sizes are approximate since each Tahoe pinecone is unique. Height is how tall the pine cone is when standing upright and the width is measured at the widest part of the cone.
Wikipedia Description of a Sugar Pinecone: Sugar Pine (Pinus lambertiana; family Pinaceae), is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of Oregon and California in the western United States, and Baja California in northwestern Mexico; specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, and the Sierra San Pedro Martir.
The Sugar Pine has been severely affected by the White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola), a fungus that was accidentally introduced from Europe in 1909. A high proportion of the Sugar Pine has been killed by the blister rust, particularly in the northern part of the species' range that has experienced the rust for a longer period of time. The rust has also destroyed much of the Western White Pine and Whitebark Pine throughout their ranges.
The U.S. Forest Service has a program (see link below) for developing rust-resistant Sugar Pine and Western White Pine. Seedlings of these trees have been introduced into the wild. The Sugar Pine Foundation in the Lake Tahoe Basin has been successful in finding resistant sugar pine seed trees and has demonstrated that it is important for private citizens to assist the U.S. Forest Service in restoring this species.
Naturalist John Muir considered Sugar Pine to be the "king of the conifers". The name comes from the sweet resin, which Muir found preferable to maple sugar.
|
