Pinus monticola (Western White Pine (PNW Native))

Western White Pine (Pinus monticola) is the elegant five-needle pine of the mid- to high-elevation Cascade and Rocky Mountain forests, native from British Columbia south through the Sierra Nevada to central California. Soft blue-green needles in graceful bundles of five and long slender hanging cones (to 10 inches) make this one of the most beautiful native conifers in the West, the species honored as Idaho's state tree.

Wind-pollinated, so not a pollinator plant, but the large nutritious seeds are critical wildlife forage. Clark's nutcracker, pine siskin, red crossbill, mountain chickadee, and Steller's jay all feed on the seeds, and chipmunks, squirrels, and small mammals cache them. The dense conical crown provides nesting and thermal cover.

NAEB records 25 uses across 11 Pacific Northwest Nations including Kwakiutl, Lummi, Nitinaht, Quileute, Quinault, Coast Salish, Skagit, Thompson, Shuswap, and Okanagan-Colville. Pitch and inner bark were prepared as medicine and the wood used for canoes and structures.

Mature pines are largely passed over by deer (protect young saplings). This is a mountain species, not a coastal one, and it does not tolerate salt spray or low-elevation summer heat.

One critical caveat: western white pine across its native range has been devastated by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), an introduced pathogen that requires an alternate host in the genus Ribes (currants and gooseberries) to complete its life cycle. Do not plant western white pine within 900 feet of cultivated currants. Where possible, source rust-resistant seed orchard stock.

Habit: tall narrow conical evergreen conifer 70 to 150 ft tall, 20 to 30 ft wide. Conditions: full sun, well-drained soil, low to moderate water once established, USDA Zone 4 to 7. Companions: Tsuga heterophylla, Abies grandis, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Vaccinium membranaceum, Pachistima myrsinites.