Pinus albicaulis

Whitebark pine is a member of the pine or Pinaceae family and is native to sub-alpine mountain areas of western North America from southern British Columbia through to parts of Wyoming, Arizona and California, often weathered by the elements and marking the tree line.

• It is in the white pine subgenus (Strobus), with needles in bundles of 5, 2.5–5.0 cm long, deep green, rigid, clustered on the ends of branches. They remain on the tree for 4 to 8 years. Branches generally are in yearly whorls.
• Species is monoecious; male pollen cones are small, scarlet, turning yellow-brown in tight clusters; female cones are deep red to purple.
• Seed cones take 2 years to mature and are 4–7 cm long, almost round, thick pointed but not armed scales, serotenous (do not open on drying). Cones of limber pine are longer at 6–12 cm in length.
• Twigs are stout but very flexible, silvery-white to gray; bark is smooth and gray-white when young, maturing to darken and become scaly, reddish brown.