A KEY for IDENTIFYING CONIFERS of the PACIFIC SLOPE CONIFERS (Leaves Needle-Like Or Scale-Like)
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A KEY FOR IDENTIFYING CONIFERS OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE CONIFERS (leaves needle-like or scale-like) leaves needle-like; ≥ 0.5’’ long leaves scale-like; ≤ 0.5’’ long (most Cupressaceae) pp. 26-59 needles clustered needles not clustered so, deciduous needles in clusters of >10 (Larix) hard, evergreen needles clustered in current year twigs current year twigs not woolly; bundles of 2-5 woolly; growing at growing at low to higher elevations mid-elevations PINES (Pinus) p. 76 p. 78 pp. 86-119 Larix lyallii, Larix occidentalis, twigs warty where old needles have fallen o twigs smooth needles sharp needles blunt, bark without loose scales HEMLOCK (Tsuga) bark with loose needles, 1.5’’, single; scales; needles spherical or ovoid needles at, spread needles plump, spread <1.5’’; branches seed cones horizontally from twig; around twig, star-like; cones <1’’ Tsuga sometimes hang like PINYON PINES cones <1.5’’ heterophylla, p. 124 tinsel SPRUCE (Pinus) pp. 86-119 Tsuga mertensiana, (Picea) pp. 80-85 p. 126 Picea twigs smooth buds large and sharp, cones buds not large and sharp, with 3-prong bract cones without 3-prong bract cones >4’’; transverse ranges of cones <4’’; common across most tips of needles extremely tips of needles not southern CA Pseudotsuga of Pacic Slope sharp; only in CA painful to touch macrocarpa, p. 120 Pseudotsuga menziesii, p. 122 Torreya californica p. 132 or see also: Santa Lucia r Abies bracteata, p. 64 trees of higher low elevation coastal elevation tree; needles (>2000’); needles attened, whitish on twigs of current year remain twigs of current year stout not attened one side Picea green; needles with pointed turn brown; seed cones sitchensis, p. 84 tip but not sharp upright at tops of trees FIRS (Abies) pp. 62-75 drooping branches, cones < 3’’, scales broad small tree or shrub; large trees; needles cones > 3’’, Klamath near base; Cascades of purplish bark; no whitish with stomatal bloom Mountains OR, WA - rare in CA color on underside of in two rows on Picea breweriana, Picea engelmannii, needles; eshy red underside Cupressaceae p. 80 p. 82 berry-like cone Sequoia Pinus Taxus brevifolia, p. 130 sempervirens, p. 46 TRUE FIRS Abies lower branches w/ many needles >1.5’’ long needles <1.5’’ long needles sharp to needles not sharp to touch needles shiny dark needle not markedly touch; thin bract green on top, vibrant two-toned, not extending to 1’’ white below, spreading forward beyond scales; Santa needles not needles shiny dark spreading forward covering twig Lucia Mtns., CA sharp to touch green on top, Abies amabilis p. 62 Abies bracteata, whitish beneath, p. 64 spreading horizon- tally from branch in 2 comb-like rows Abies grandis, p. 68 needles sti and needle have star-like turning upward growth around twig; mature trees with spire-like crown seed cones with seed cones Abies lasiocarpa, bracts extending well p. 70 common in >6000’ on sky islands without bracts beyond scales mid-elevation of southwest U.S. into (except southern forests of Sierra northern Baja Sierra Nevada) Nevada, Klamath California Abies magnica, barrel-shaped cones cylindrical cones with Cupressaceae Mtns., Warner Abies concolor var. p. 72 with truncate and bract that extend to Mtns. concolor, p. 66 caudate bracts cover entire cone and Abies concolor var. Pinus x taper to a point lowiana, p. 67 Abies shastensis, p. 74 Abies procera, p. 73 PINES Pinus <5 needles per bundle 5 needles per bundle only in coastal San Diego cones <10’’ long cones, on average, <4 needles per bundle County or Santa 4 needles per bundle (or 5) >10’’ long Rosa Island Pinus quadrifolia, p. 88 Pinus lambertiana, Pinus torreyana, p. 98 p. 110 higher elevations 2 or 3 needles 1 needle per bundle (rarely 2) per bundle Pinus monophylla, p. 87 needles not packed needles packed densely around densely around stems stems in “bottle-brush” form cones >3’’, ripen cones <3’’, egg- cones purplish 3 needles 2 needles cones ripen to brown shaped and with prickle at tip per bundle per bundle to brown purplish of scales Pinus albicaulis, cones Pinus longaeva, cones p. 94 p. 92 symmetrical, asymetrical nearly spherical; SW cones 5’’-8’’, light cones 3’’-6’’, thick deserts, rare in high elevations of high elevations of California brown near tip of scales that ripen scales to pale yellow southern Sierra Klamath Pinus edulis, Nevada Mountains Pinus p. 86 Pinus monticola, Pinus exilis, p. 100 p. 96 Pinus balfouriana ssp. balfouriana ssp. balfouriana, Pinus Pinus austrina, p. 91 p. 90 PINES 3 needles 2 needles per bundle per bundle cones >2.5’’ cones <2.5’’ long long with Pinus contorta, cones >6’’ long cones <6’’ long thick prickle pp. 116-119 at tip rounded or scales with sharp Pinus recurved scale-tip hook at tip muricata, p. 114 CA Central higher seed cones seed cones Coast, cones elevations, nearly asymmetrical, without thick xeric sites, symmetrical, 8-14’’ long, Cupressaceae prickle at tip scales with 6-10’’ long, pale yellow- leaves scale-like, <0.5’’ long Pinus recurved tip, dull brown, brown radiata, not sharp 4-sided scales Pinus p. 111 Pinus Pinus coulteri, trees enormous, not Earth’s largest jereyi, sabiniana, p. 102 western Sierra living thing p. 104 p. 108 Nevada only Sequoiadendron giganteum, p. 48 serotinous not serotinous cones not spherical mid-elevation cones scale tips scales thick forests across spherical appear rounded with prickles West cones to 1’’ with 3 cones <0.75’’, and/or or padded at tips Pinus obvious scales upright relative berry-like Pinus radiata, Pinus ponderosa, (duck-billed) to branch p. 111 attenuata, p. 106 Calocedrus uja plicata, p. 112 decurrens p. 40 p. 44 CUPRESSACEAE cones spherical and/or berry-like cones berry-like cones woody prostrate or trees or shrubs >2’’ tall cones <0.5’’ in diameter cones >0.5’’ in shrubby <2’’ tall diameter Juniperus resin glands resin glands not CYPRESSES communis, conspicuous on conspicuous on twigs thin, >5 twigs thicker, <5 (Cupressus), p. 52 leaves leaves scales per cone; scales per cone; pp. 26-37 coastal OR and rare in Klamath Klamath Mountain Mountain common north- at elevations tan brown endemic at elevations bluish-brown ward Callitropsis >5000’ to purplish <5000’ oen in seed cones Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, semi-desert Juniperus seed cones lawsoniana, p. 38 with pinyon osteosperma, p. 42 Juniperus p. 56 californica, p. 50 growing seaside eastern WA and bark brown, bark red-brown, on granite or across the trees growing in trees growing in sand, Puget Rocky Great Basin and Sierra Nevada Sound - St. Mtns. east Cascades southward George Strait Juniperus Juniperus Juniperus Juniperus scopularum, occidentalis, grandis, maritma, p. 58 p. 55 p. 54 p. 58 CYPRESSES (Cupressus) in Arizona Baja California, California, Oregon (rare) C. arizonica resin glands present (survey broadly) resin glands absent 3-4 pairs of scales per cone 4-5+ pairs of scales per cone 3-4 pairs of scales per cone 4-5+ pairs of scales per cone thick resin resin glands Klamath Baja California Mendocino coast range of native only around glands, dull present but less Mountain in Sierra de San and Sonoma central and Carmel Bay, now gray-green conspicuous region, Pedro Martir county coast; northern widely naturalized needles, oen on California National Park marine California; along Pacic Coast serpentine Cascades C. montana terraces oen on C. macrocarpa, C. macnabiana, C. bakeri, p. 26 C. pigmaea, serpentine p. 32 p. 35 p. 34 p. 33 C. sargentii p. 36 two groves near Carmel Bay, smaller and darker cones Cuyamaca Sierra Juarez Piute Moun- than C. abramsiana State Park in Mountains tains of Kern Special thanks for help creating this key: C. goeniana, San Diego near Rincon County; Stephen Arno for providing initial inspiration p. 31 County in Baja mature trees through his key in Northwest Trees, and for providing invaluable feedback for this one. C. stephenso- California, have sharp, Santa Cruz Mtns of Je Bisbee for his keen eye for taxonomic details. nii, p. 27 Mexico conical crowns Santa Cruz and San C. revealiana, C. nevadensis, Chris Earle for his feedback and amazing website Mateo counties - on p. 27 p. 26 (conifers.org) that presents accessible and poor soils thorough information online. C. abramsiana, p. 30.