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Rocky Mountain Conifers |
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This page contains information about some of the conifer species living in the Rocky Mountain regions of the United States and Canada. |
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Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) is the most common and widespread conifer in the Rocky Mountain region. Of all the pines, this is my favorite with with its stately yellow-brown to red-brown trunks reaching upwards in nearly pure stands between 4000 and 8000 feet. At higher elevations the firs and spruces come in, and in the lower, drier elevations below 4000 feet the Pinyons rule. Ponderosa Pine is a very important timber tree and the seeds are an important source of food for the wildlife of the region. |
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At lower and drier elevations in the Rocky Mountain regions live a tightly knit group of species called Pinyons. Although it may be difficult to think of pine trees producing anything edible, the seeds of several pine species are very tasty. The Pinyon Pine (Pinus edulis) from the western United States is one such species. The nuts can be eaten directly, made into candy, or become part of Pesto Sauce for your pasta. You can buy the European Pine Nuts (from a related species) or the genuine Pinyon Nuts. If you try to gather Pinyon Nuts yourself, be prepared to fight a battle with the wildlife to get to them first. |
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Mixed with the pinyon pines of the drier sites at lower elevations are a number of species of junipers. Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) is one such species. Throughout some of the drier, but not desert, regions of the Rocky Mountains the forests consist of tightly pack mixtures of pinyon pines and junipers of different species. Junipers are easily recognized by the scale-like leaves of their foliage and the bluish to reddish berry-like female cones. |
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Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is one of the commoner conifers of the western United States. The species occurs in the higher regions of the Rocky Mountains although to the north in the Pacific Northwest it comes down nearly to sea level. Douglas Fir is easily recognized by its distinctive cones. The cone brachts of the female cones are tridentate and extend well beyond the outer limits of the cone scales. Some individuals of Douglas Fir rival the Redwood in height. A few trees have been measured at nearly 300 feet in height. |
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Several species of spruces live at the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains. One such spruce species, and probably the most common and widespread, is Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii). In a typical spruce or fir forest, spruces and firs commonly have numerous dead branches sticking out from the trunks. The understory of this type of forest is very open. However if the trees are young, such a forest can be nearly impossible to walk through. |
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Blue Spruce (Picea pungens) is widely planted as an ornamental and you can find it nearly everywhere in North America in yards and parks. The native range, however, is restricted to the Rocky Mountains, particularly in Colorado. The tree takes it name from the distinctive blue-green color of the needles. |
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Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) lives throughout the highest elevations of the western United States and Canada from Alaska to Arizona. At the highest elevations at the tree line just below the alpine zone individuals of Subalpine Fir can become stunted and shrub-like. More typically, however, the trees are tall and conical like the individuals on the left near Mount Rainier in Washington. |
