Index / Search / Pinus albicaulis

§1 Plant — species · Pinaceae

Pinus albicaulis Engelm.

vernacular whitebark pine


USDA
PIAL
GBIF
5285183
Rank
species
whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)
Platephotograph · Gary GriffithCC BY-NC-SA source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Gymnosperm
Family
Pinaceae Spreng. ex Rudolphi
Genus
Pinus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
None
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-58 °F minimum
Frost-free days
90 min.
Precipitation
18–72 in/yr
pH range
4.8–8
Root depth
16 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Stem
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
65 ft
Height @ 20 y
15 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Moderate
Porosity (winter)
Moderate
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Summer
Seed abundance
Low
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
3,600
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
No
Browse palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Lumber
No
Fuelwood
Medium
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 4 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/PIAL ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/5285183 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z