Torrey Pine

(Pinus torreyana)

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of Charles Webber, California Academy of Sciences

Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana)

Identifying Characters: Torrey Pine is unique. It is the only hard pine (bundle sheaths not shed after the first year) with 5 needles per bundle. The species is very rare and is only found along the coast of San Diego County, California and Santa Rosa Island near Santa Barbara.

Similar Species: See above.

Measurements: Short to medium size trees 30 to 40 feet in height and about 1 foot in diameter.

Cones: Cones 4 to 6 inches in length, egg-shaped and slightly flattened; cone scales thick with a thick keel, four sided, and with a thick, triangular apical spine.

Needles: Needles in bundles of 5, clustered in tufts at the ends of thick twigs; needle color dark green; needles thick, stiff, and with white lines; bundle sheath not shed after the first year.

Bark: Dull black deeply furrowed into broad, scaly ridges.

Native Range: Torrey Pine is a very rare species limited to the coastal region of San Diego County in California and Santa Rosa Island off the coast of California.

Habitat: Torrey Pine is limited to the dry, sandy coastal regions of southern California. The species may be rarest conifer in North America with a total range limited to two areas of southern California.