Bill's Botanical Forays

I spent a few days on vacation over Thanksgiving in Washington State and took a few pictures of nature while there.

While driving up to my parent’s place on Pleasant Prairie, I stopped by Plantes Ferry Park and took some pictures of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson. subsp. ponderosa ) along the Spokane River. It was first described by Stephen Douglass in 1826. The exact type location (the place where a species of plant was first collected) of this pine species is described as along the Spokane River near present-day Spokane. Although precise location is not known, I decided to take some pictures in a location as described as its type location.

The Ponderosa Pine has at least a couple of superlatives attached to it. It is perhaps the most widespread species of pine in North America and at 286 feet, one specimen holds the record for the tallest pine of any species. It is also the state tree of Montana.

The most common subspecies (the one pictured here) features three long stout needles per cluster. Its orange colored bark is rather distinctive. It can form deep crevices and the outer bark is made up of flake which resemble jigsaw pieces that are stacked.

It is the most common tree around Spokane and can be seen almost everywhere.