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Table 1 Ranges and morphological characteristics differentiating eight North American species of Pinus subsection Strobus

From: An empirical evaluation of two-stage species tree inference strategies using a multilocus dataset from North American pines

Taxa

Common name

Range

Elevation (m)

Seed cone

Seeds

Dispersal

Related notes

    

length (cm)

   

P. albicaulis 1

Whitebark pine

Central British Columbia and Alberta south to central California; northern Rockies west to the Cascades and Sierra Nevadas

1300-3700

4-8

Wingless

Birds and rodents

Closed cone morphology where scales are opened through animal agency exclusively; timberline species.

P. ayacahuite 2

Mexican white pine

Central Mexico to Honduras; sympatric with P. chiapensis at lower elevations

2300-3200

14-40

Winged

Wind

Southernmost species of the North American subsection Strobus; among the largest of Mexican pines.

P. chiapensis 2

Chiapas pine

Veracruz, Mexico to northwestern Guatemala; sympatric with P. ayacahuite at upper elevations

260-2300

8-16

Winged

Wind

Formally considered as a disjunct population of Pinus strobus var. chiapensis.

P. flexilis 1

Limber pine

Rocky Mountains and Intermountain Ranges from Canada south into the central US

1500-3600

7-15

Wingless

Birds and rodents

Often found at timberline; oldest trees date beyond 1600 years.

P. lambertiana 1

Sugar pine

Oregon, California, Nevada, and isolated population in northern Baja California

330-3200

25-50

Winged

Wind

Largest species and longest seed cone of Pinus; unable to hybridize with any other North American pine.

P. monticola 1

Western white pine

Southern British Columbia to south-central California; northern Rockies, Cascades, and Sierra Nevadas

0-3000

10-25

Winged

Wind

Found in moist, montane forests while most other western species are relegated to drier and more exposed sites.

P. strobiformis 1

Southwestern white pine

Northern Mexico extending into central Arizona and New Mexico

1900-3500

15-25

Wingless

Birds and rodents

Range intergrades with P. ayacahuite to the south and P. flexilis to the north, and with these two species, forms a well-documented complex.

P. strobus 1

Eastern white pine

Southern Canada south to Georgia; Newfoundland to western Ontario and Minnesota

0-1500

8-20

Winged

Wind

Only member of this group to occur in the eastern US and Canada; allopatric from all other taxa in subsection Strobus.

  1. 1[52].
  2. 2[53].