Skip to main content

Pinus ponderosa - ponderosa pine

Scientific Family
Pinaceae
Plant type
Trees
Riparian
Yes

Plant Description

Origin
Native
Similar species
Pinus arizonica

The most abundant species of pine in Arizona; tall and straight with crown broadly conic to rounded. Grows in well-drained soils in areas where rainfall is 12 to 40 inches per year. Grows on rocky slopes, gentle to steep.

Leaf sheaths persistent; cones sessile or nearly so. Needles 2 to 5, mostly in 3’s, 3 inches long or longer.

Height
120 feet
Width
30 feet

Habitat

Habitat description

Found on open, rocky, generally drier slopes with well-drained soils throughout the mountains. Can also grow in moist forests, most often on south facing aspects. Common at 5500 feet to 8000 feet.

Plant Community
Montane Conifer Forest
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Riparian
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
9500

Leaves

Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaf attachment
Other
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Leaf Drop
Evergreen

Needles up to 7 inches long in bundles of 3 (bundles of 5 for var. Arizonica), persisting for 2 to 7 years. Needles arise out of the end of the shoot and are covered by leaf sheaths.

Flowers

Flower color
No flowers
Flower shape
Other
Tubular
No

Gymnosperm, does not flower.

Flower clusters
None

Fruit

Fruit color
Light red to brown
Fruit type
Cone or cone-like

Conical or egg-shaped to 5 inches long tipped with prickly scales. The ripe seeds are brown and winged.

Bark/Branches

Bark color
Reddish-brown to orangish-yellow
Bark texture
Rough

Young trees called blackjack pine because of dark brown to almost black color. Older trees have cinnamon brown to orangish-yellow color with irregular fissures. Trunk can be up to 4 feet in diameter.