Bishop Pine, Pinus muricata

About Bishop Pine (Pinus muricata) 6 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The Bishop Pine (Pinus muricata) is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly California, USA, including some offshore islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico, and always on or near the coast, from Trinidad Head in Humboldt County, California south to San Vicente in Baja California. The mature trees grow to a height of 15-25 meter, rarely up to 34 meter, with a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 meter. The species is often smaller, stunted and twisted in coastal exposures. It is drought-tolerant and grows on dry, rocky soil. P. muricata has been used in plantations with resultant growth rates higher than in the wild, but with adverse impacts to biodiversity. The common name Bishop Pine resulted from the tree having been first identified near the Mission of San Luis Obispo. This tree has a large number of common names and other prior scientific names, due primarily to numerous variant forms. Other English names that have occasionally been used are: Obispo Pine, Santa Cruz Pine, Dwarf Marine Pine, and Pricklecone Pine.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree

Size

35 - 90 ft tall

Form

Pyramidal

Growth Rate

Fast

Flower Color

Orange

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed

, 73 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Sequoia Pitch Moth Synanthedon sequoiaeSynanthedon sequoiae

Egira Baueri Egira baueriEgira baueri

Rhyacionia pasadenanaRhyacionia pasadenana

Pine White Neophasia menapiaNeophasia menapia

Western Pine Elfin Callophrys eryphonCallophrys eryphon

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Polyphemus moth Antheraea polyphemusAntheraea polyphemus

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Nurseries

Carried by 6

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Soil Drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description

Tolerates a variety of soils types

Common uses

Deer Resistant, Bird Gardens

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds need no treatment; stored seeds 1 mo. stratification (USDA Forest Service 1974).

Sunset Zones?

5*, 14, 15*, 16*, 17*, 22, 23, 24*

Natural Setting

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 10.1" - 66.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.15" - 1.64", Coldest Month: 40.2" - 54.2", Hottest Month: 57.8" - 79.5", Humidity: 0.01" - 26.09", Elevation: 2" - 3256"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Pino Peninsular, Prickle-cone Pine, Santa Cruz Island Pine

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Bishop Pine

Pinus muricata

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Bishop PinePinus muricata

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Bishop Pine

Pinus muricata