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Pinus contorta var. contorta As its names imply, shore pine is typically an irregularly crooked tree found on exposed outer coast shores, headlands, dunes, and even peat bogs. The tree has thick, scaly, deeply-furrowed, dark brown bark. The needles are bundled in pairs, often curved or twisted, and 2-7 cm long. The female cones are 3-5 cm long, slightly curved, with stiff brown scales, each bearing a sharp prickle at the tip. Shore pine is quite tolerant of salt spray. Pinus contorta var. latifolia, lodgepole pine, grows just east of the Cascade crest, and grows taller, straighter, and with thinner, reddish bark. The cones of shore pine open and release their seeds at maturity whereas those of lodgepole pine often remain closed for years until triggered to open by fire. Dense, even-aged stands of lodgepole pine often develop quickly after fire because of the seed stored in unopened cones in the tree canopy. |