Pinus washoensis
Pinus washoensis, the Washoe pine, is a rare, semi-disputed species of large-sized conifer in the family Pinaceae. The species was described by Herbert Louis Mason and William Palmer Stockwell in 1945. It is in the Pinus subsect. Ponderosae with the Ponderosa pine.
Etymology
Pinus washoensis was named for the Washoe people, who inhabited the lands around Lake Tahoe and surrounding areas; not for Washoe County, Nevada.Taxonomy
The Washoe pine has a disputed taxonomic rank, for some believe it should be a subspecies or variety of Pinus ponderosa. Other sources list it as a synonym of Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa, with no recollection of the Washoe pine at all. This is a result of misclassification and distribution errors brought about by similar structures, and general similarities between the Ponderosa pine and the Washoe pine. Its taxonomic status has not been decided on though, for every source supports a different classification than a compared other. Most recently in 1982, the botanist Albert Edward Murray, listed it as a subspecies of the Ponderosa pine, which is still partially accepted today. The U.S. Forest Service recognizes it as a variety of the Ponderosa pine but also lists every subspecies of the Ponderosa pine as a variety. They believe that the Washoe pine evolved through a hybrid between Pinus ponderosa subsp. ponderosa and Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum, which may be valid because of seen similarities. The United [States Department of Agriculture|United States Department Of Agriculture (USDA)] also recognizes it as a variety. The IUCN Red List lists it as a synonym of Pinus ponderosa subsp. ponderosa. NatureServe recognizes it as a true species, but the United States Geographical Survey (USGS) recognizes it as a variety; hence its taxonomic status is unknown, but likely to either be a species, or a variety.''''Description
On average, trees reach a height of 60 m, and 100 cm Diameter at [breast height|DBH]. Height differs between individuals though; some being taller and more robust. Trunk is straight and cylindrical, with a layered, pyramidal crown. Bark can be from a yellow-brown to a red-brown, fissured, with scaly plates. Branches are spreading and ascending, rough textured, with stout twigs that are an orange-grey color. Tree buds are a red-brown color, 1.5-2.0 cm long, and not resinous. Needles or leaves are 10–15 cm long, grey-green, partially twisted, with 2-3 leaves per fascicle. Pollen cones are red-purple, and 10–20 mm long. Seed cones (conifer cones) are ovoid, 7–10 cm long, tan to a pale red-brown color, and pyramidal. Seed cones mature within a span of two years. Seeds are ellipsoid-like, 0.8 cm long, gray to a brown color, with wings up to 16 cm long.It can be differentiated from Pinus jeffreyi and Pinus ponderosa by its mature seed cones, for they are less prickly than either species. Pinus washoensis also has shorter needles than Pinus ponderosa and Pinus jeffreyi. It is similar in the fact that it produces a vanilla odor only seen in two species: Pinus jeffreyi, and Pinus ponderosa. The cones are also 7–10 cm long, compared to Pinus ponderosa which has 7–15 cm cones.