Western White Pine: 150 feet tall and 400 years old
#NativePlantsofOregon
- Binomial Name: Pinus monticola
- Soil Type: Tolerates moist to fairly dry soils
- Sunlight: Full sun or light shade
- Plant Type: Large tree
- Form: Pyramidal
- Foliage: Evergreen
- Fruit/Flower: Cones
Western white pines can be found from southern British Columbia south through the Olympics and Cascades. They reach all the way down through Oregon and into California and as far east as Idaho, western Montana and western Nevada. They can be found in a variety of types of soil from sandy to rocky and they can tolerate moist or fairly dry soils.
The Western white pine is a very large tree reaching heights of 150 feet and can live to be as old as 400 years. They are similar and can often be mistaken as a sugar pine which has 5 needles as well. Some distinct characters that can tell them apart are the cones and the bark. Sugar pinecones are about twice as long as white pine cones. The bark of sugar pine have long plates and are reddish brown in color and white pine are broken into small squares and are grey in color. Another common characteristic of white pine is that the bark is smooth and grey as a young tree.
This Native Plant of the Month is brought to you by the City of Beaverton’s Landscape and Urban Forestry Department. Visit Clean Water Service’s Native Plant Finder webpage for interactive questions to help you find the right native plant to fit your needs!
