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Show 7 SPECIES OF THE MONTH Toughest & Oldest in Utah Intermountain Litho Printing Limber and Bristlecone Pines and a short growing season, BC is relegated to extremely slow but purposeful growth. It is this concentrated growth, with often more that 100 annular growth rings in an inch heartwood, that is the BC’s ticket to survival. By growing slowly, BC wood is hard and resistant to invasion by insects or disease. An abundance of pitch further protects the tree by scabbing wounds and open sores. Durable BC wood remains standing long after the death of the tree. [ts only enemy is sandblasting by wind. The hardwood summer rings outlast the softwood spring rings, leaving a neues that can be felt as will as seen. BC bark is frequently eroded away on the windward side of the tree, blasted away by a lifelong onslaught of prevailing winds On the leeward sidej of the tree, a narrow wind by the bulk of the tree itself Annular rings continue to form along that strip, developing the BC into a naturally buttressed or winged sculpture BCs - living o r dead - can survive longer than the soil around them, which erodes away from gnarled roots at the rate of one inch every 200 years. Look above 9,000 feet elevation for BC pine. The wind is constantly howlg, evaporating moisture at an accelerated : rate. Soil is thin or nonexistent and consists mostly of scree and boulders. Solar energy and UV radiation are off the scale. Thirty inches of annual precipitation quickly dissipate through the “soil” or evaporate with wind and radiation. Over time, the constant buffet of winds and crush of winter snows beat BC into their trademark arthritic stances.@ j needles remain %% and accumulate on the branches of these slow growing trees for 10 :to 30 years, give them the nickname of foxtail or bottle brush pines. Limber pine has three close white pine relatives in western North America, one of them growing only in the Great Basin - the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (BC). Limber pine’s most notorious associate, with which it is often confused, is the world’s oldest living individual. Each BC represents a lifetime germinating from a single seed and surviving alone for up to 5,000 years. Enduring a harsh habitat, limited resources 1 ey | ofa Limber pine. The Limber pine (LP) is well named because its branches are so limber they can be bent double or even tied into a knot without breaking, a distinct advantage in withstanding the severe winds and snow loads of their harsh habitats. From a distance LP is commonly seen along the bare ridges of the Wasatch, bushy rather than pointed at the top. LP is the only commonly occurring native pine on the Wasatch, with only a few scattered Lodgepole pines east of Ogden and a rare Ponderosa or two in Big Cottonwood Canyon. The wide variety of conifers at the Spruces Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon, including everything from Western White Pine to deciduous Larch trees, was hand planted by Homo Sapiens. LP is a member of the White Pine division of the Pine Family (PINACEAE.) Mostly native to the eastern United States, white pines are distinguished by having bundles of five needles at each leaf node. Compare this to Ponderosa pine with three needled bundles; Lodgepole, Colorado Pinyon, Austrian and Scotch pine with two Limber Pine, Pinus flexuosus, and Bristlecone Pine, Pinus longaeva AKA: Western white pines, foxtail pines, bottle brush pines. Description: Both large 5 needled pines. LP can be differentiated from the BC by its needles which are bunched at the ends of the twigs rather that all along the branches as with BC. LP may also be separated from BC by the color of their mature cones: in LP they are light brown and without prickles; in BC, they are a deep brown purple (rarely lime green) with prickles What they can be confused with: Each other. LP can be confused with White bark pine (Pinus albicaulis,) which overlaps its range north of the Great Basin; and Western White Pine (2_monticola,) which overlaps its range west of the Great Basin. BC is confused with the more slender needled Rocky Mountain Bristlecone (Pinus aristata.) Habitat; Both trees: usually above 7,500 feet elevation. A harsh habitat of constant winds and a three month growing season, Constant wind evaporates moisture at an accelerated rate. Soil thin or nonexistent. High solar energy and UV radiation. Range and Distribution: LP: Throughout the mountains of the southwest, mostly above 7,500 fest; west to California, north to Canada, east to South Dakota and Nebraska, souti: to Mexico. BC; Endemic to the calcareous mountains 2 the Great Basin, mostly above 9, 000 feet. Associates: cach other, currant, aes ns ce primrose mat lichens and bare ro ‘Where to .-2¢ them: LP near dimbeline i in most mountain ge f westernn North Serving Utah’s printing needs for 19 years i vie off Ph If 4030 SOUTH 500 WEST, #20 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84123 (801) 262-1743 / FAX (801) 262-1881 BLOOD PRESSURE: PILLS WORKF‘YOU TAKE THEM, fie. 0?) “~ Pee American Heart Association © 1992, American Heart Association © SAWIL NIVLINNOW Te up downhill skiing at 32 had seemed like a silly thing to do, but the thrill of schussing down a hill of newly fallen snow had turned out to be the ultimate experience. Now, when the cold air blew through her hair, her cheeks frosted pink and her nose. burned red, she couldn't believe she had missed out on skiing for all those years. Riding the chairlift was still the most difficult part. Not only was the ride boring and cold, but getting on and off the thing remained her biggest challenge. As she and her partner neared the top, he explained how easy it was: “Relax. Get your poles in one hand in front of you, lean forward and stand up. Quickly ski to the side and there you are.” That sounds simple, but this is the devil’s own chairlift. Once you complete the described procedure, you ae y have to make a sharp turn to the left. If you don't, you either take a quick trip to eke or run into a tree. The top grew nearer. Now she could see empty chairs making their jerky U- turns to return to the bottom. Here it comes. Here it is! Poles in hand, relax, stand, ski. The morning crust was slick and her edges didn’t cut. Her skis slipped from beneath her and she rode the side of her thigh into the broad trunk of a tree. Pulling herself up with the branches, they bent flexibly, but didn’t break. As snow fell loosely from the tasseled branches down the back of her neck, she made an impromptu inspection of the brown-orange bark plates needled bundles, and Great Basin Pinyon with a lonely one needled bundle. The presence of bundles of five needles gives white pines a % heats green appearance. This, and the fact that the €L IOVd By Pam Poulson Manager of Visitor Education Red Butte Garden and Arboretum |