Habitat

• native to mountainous regions of the southwestern United States
• cold hardy to zone 4

Habit and Form

• evergreen small tree, up to 20 ft.
• dwarf and irregular growth habit
• very attractive picturesque form
• medium texture
• very slow growth rate, making mature height irrelevant

Summer Foliage

• 5 needles per fasicle
• approx. 1" in length
• dark green needles
• needle undersides are whitish
• needles are tightly packed on the branches
• white resin dots on the needles are numerous; mistaken for scale

Autumn Foliage

• no fall color (remains green)
• needles can persist over 15 years

Flowers

• monoecious
• no ornamental value

Fruit

• dark puplish brown cone
• oviod, 3.5" long
• each cone scale has a thorn-like appearance at tip, hence the common name Bristlecone

Culture

• in native habitat, found on dry, rocky, soils
• full sun
• pH adaptable
• not tolerant of polluted air
• tolerant of wind
• very long-lived

Landscape Uses

• potted plant
• good accent plant in rock garden
• patio plant
• remains in scale to landscape for a great many years

Liabilities

• very slow growth in landscape
• cones can hurt if stepped on
• rare and hard to find

ID Features

• needles in 5's, tufted apperance
• dwarf habit
• white flecks on needles
• thorn-like tips on pine scales
• retention of several years of needles

Propagation

• by seed, no treatment is needed for good germination

Cultivars/Varieties

'Sherwood Compact' - Regarded as a handsome slow-growing form of the species, such a plant will clearly remain a prize for collectors only. After 15 years of healthy growth, a specimen of the species may fail to exceed 4' in height. Given this sluggish growth, one can only imagine the miniscule annual progress of a "dwarf form".