King of the pines/Queen of the Sierras

Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) is a much-beloved pine species. Called ³the most princely of the genus² by its discoverer, David Douglas (of Douglas-fir fame), sugar pine has also received royal accolades as ³king of the pines² and ³queen of the Sierras.²

What makes sugar pine so special? Its beauty and attributes are unsurpassed. It is the tallest and largest of the pines, reaching heights of 200 feet and more than 60 inches dbh. Old trees can exceed 500 years. Its wood excels in quality and value. And the cones are unmistakable, often over two feet long.

The name comes from its sweet sap, which John Muir preferred over maple syrup. Native Americans ate the sap and used the tree for a large number of purposes: seeds and bark for food, small roots for baskets, pitch for glue and gum to repair canoes and fasten arrowheads and feathers to shafts, and the leaves and bark for medicinal teas.

As a historical side note, Sutter¹s Mill, where the California gold rush began, was built to process sugar pine.

Sugar pine can be identified by their long needles, clustered five to a fascicle. They have long, horizontal branches that are often drooping at the ends from the weight of the large cones. Because the cones hang on the ends of the branches, large seed-eating birds are unable to eat the seeds. However, predation by the sugar pine cone beetle (Conophthorus lambertianae) can make up for that, sometimes causing up to 93 percent loss of seeds. Other seed predators such as the white-headed woodpecker, Douglas squirrel, and other birds and small mammals eat sugar pine seeds but they also contribute to the species by dispersing seeds away from the parent tree.

The natural range of sugar pine extends from Mexico to Oregon and east to Nevada with over 80 percent of the trees found in California. Elevation ranges from near sea level to over 10,000 feet.

Sugar pine is rarely found in pure stands but is a component of many other plant communities. The densest populations are found on the western slopes of the Sierras.

While young sugar pines are susceptible to fire, mature trees can survive most fires and their susceptibility to secondary attack by insects and disease following fire is rated low. The trees are ozone tolerant but not very drought tolerant. This low drought tolerance is one reason that sugar pine planting has not been as successful as some other pines.

Sugar pine populations have been declining due to an introduced pathogen, the white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola). This disease causes cankers that girdle the main stem, killing seedlings and young trees. Luckily, some trees have a natural genetic resistance to the rust. Other diseases include dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium californicum) which can weaken the trees to attack by bark beetles, however, it spreads slowly and can be controlled by pruning. The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) is the most important insect pest, often killing large groups of trees. A number of other bark- and cone-feeding insects can also cause mortal damage, especially when the trees are stressed by drought or other conditions.

While sugar pine is considered a soft wood, it is a very hard pine. The wood is extremely desirable, offering large, clear pieces with high dimensional stability. It is lightweight, easily milled and worked, and has a straight, uniform grain unique among pines. It is used for items like moldings, door frames, and special products like piano keys and organ pipes.