Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine or western yellow pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America. Pinus ponderosa grows in various erect forms in 16 western U.S. states as well as British Columbia in Canada and has been introduced in temperate regions of Europe and in New Zealand. It was first documented in modern science in 1826 in eastern Washington near present-day Spokane (of which it is the official city tree). On that occasion, David Douglas misidentified it as Pinus resinosa (red pine). In 1829, Douglas concluded that he had a new pine among his specimens and coined the name Pinus ponderosa for its heavy wood. In 1836, it was formally named and described by Charles Lawson, a Scottish nurseryman. It was adopted as the official state tree of Montana in 1949. Other vernacular names that have been used for the species are "bull pine" and "blackjack pine", but these are general woodsmans terms applied to growth stages of several different pines, rather than specific to Pinus ponderosa.
Description
Pinus ponderosa is a large coniferous pine (evergreen) tree. The bark helps distinguish it from other species. Mature to overmature individuals have yellow to orange-red bark in broad to very broad plates with black crevices. Younger trees have blackish-brown bark, referred to as "blackjacks" by early loggers. The five varieties or subspecies, as classified by some botanists, can be identified by their characteristically bright-green needles (contrasting with blue-green needles that distinguish Jeffrey pine). The Pacific subspecies has the longest at 15–24 centimeters (6–9+1⁄2 inches) and most flexible needles in plume-like fascicles of three, and green immature cones. The North Plateau or Columbia ponderosa pine has long 12–20.5 cm (4+3⁄4–8 in) and relatively flexible needles in fascicles of three, and purple immature cones. The Rocky Mountains subspecies has shorter 9.2–14.4 cm (3+1⁄2–5+3⁄4 in) and stouter needles growing in bushy, tuft-like fascicles of two or three, and usually green immature cones (but purple at high altitudes). The southwestern subspecies has stout needles 11.2–19.8 cm (4+1⁄2–7+3⁄4 in) long, in fascicles of three (averaging 68.5–89 mm (2+3⁄4–3+1⁄2 in)). The central High Plains subspecies is characterized by the fewest branches (1.4 per whorl, on average; stout, upright branches at narrow angles from the trunk; and long green needles 14.8–17.9 cm (5+3⁄4–7 in) extending farthest along the branch, resembling a fox tail. Needles are widest, stoutest, and fewest (averaging 56–71 mm or 2+1⁄4–2+3⁄4 in) for the species. The egg-shaped cones, which are often found in great number under trees, are 8–13 cm (3–5 in) long. Each scale has a sharp point. Sources differ on the scent of P. ponderosa. Some state that the bark smells of turpentine, which could reflect the dominance of terpenes (alpha- and beta-pinenes, as well as delta-3-carene). Others state that it has no distinctive scent, while still others state that the bark smells like vanilla if sampled from a furrow. Sources agree that the Jeffrey pine is more strongly scented than the ponderosa pine. When carved into, pitch-filled stumps emit a scent of fresh pitch.
Size
The National Register of Big Trees lists a ponderosa pine that is 72 m (235 feet) tall and 8.2 m (27 ft) in circumference. In January 2011, a Pacific ponderosa pine in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon was measured with a laser to be 81.79 m (268 ft 4 in) high. The measurement was performed by Michael Taylor and Mario Vaden, a professional arborist from Oregon. The tree was climbed on 13 October 2011, by Ascending The Giants (a tree-climbing company in Portland, Oregon) and directly measured with tape-line at 81.77 m (268 ft 3 in) high. As of 2015, a Pinus lambertiana specimen was measured at 83.45 m (273 ft 9+1⁄2 in), which surpassed the ponderosa pine previously considered the world's tallest pine tree.
Taxonomy Pinus ponderosa was scientifically described and named by Charles Lawson working from information provided by David Douglas in 1836. The taxonomy of the ponderosa pine is heavily disputed by botanists and foresters. In a pair of research papers in 2013 for the US Forest Service, Robert Z. Callaham concluded that it is a single species from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast divided into five subspecies. However, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS) lists these as varieties as of 2025. In the World Plants database maintained by Michael Hassler only three varieties are recognized, one described in 2024. On the other hand the World Flora Online (WFO) lists just two varieties. The Plants of the World Online (POWO) lists four varieties, but separates out two other taxa recognized as varieties as species. Similarly to POWO Christopher J. Earle writes in the Gymnosperm Database that the ponderosa pine has three subspecies and recognizes two taxa as species. In the Flora of North America (FNA) three varieties are recognized.
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