Lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta var latifolia, is a short tree standing up to 40 m tall and is broadly conical in silhouette, though columnar when in a stand. The bark of the trunk is dark reddish-brown, moderately thick (up to 3 cm), scaly or deeply fissured into plates. Leaves are 2 to 7 cm long dark green, needle-like, arranged in pairs and curved or twisted. In cross-section the leaves are half-moon shaped. The male cones are small, reddish-green and appear in spring clustered on the branch tips, while female cones are brown, egg-shaped, 3 to 5 cm long, slightly curved with stiff scaled with a sharp point at the tip.
The range of Lodgepole Pine includes Alaska southward to Baja, California and east to the Dakotas. It is also commonly found in the Rocky Mountains from Yukon, Alaska to Colorado, being common in the wild as well as a popular as a lumber species. Found also in Yellowstone National Park geyserbasins and gorge.
Throughout much of its range, Lodgepole Pine is a fire successional species and fire is required to open the serratinous cones and disperse the seeds on the bare ground seed bed left after the fire.
The common name, Lodgpole Pine, is derived from usage in supporting lodges in Native American populations.
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Russel, T., C. Cutler and M. Walters (2006) The New Encyclopedia of American Trees. Hermes House, London.