Gray Pine
(Ghost Pine / Foothill Pine / Bull Pine)
Pinus sabiniana

[PIE-nus  sab-in-ee-AY-na]

FAMILY: Pinaceae (Pine)

DESCRIPTION: {native} These are a '3-needled' pine, with up to 7" long, grayish-green needles. During March, the small male cones produce much yellow pollen (that gets all over everything). They have large, heavy, sappy female cones with large, edible nuts that take two years to mature. Our squirrels love them, and eat the young cones down to their cores. Native Americans use the nuts for food and jewelry.

HABITAT: Foothill woodland, chaparral, infertile soils from 450' to 4,500..

NOTES: These whispy, many branched trees dot the Sierra Nevada foothills and we have many specimens through out our property, one is more than 70' tall.