Tree of the Week: December 17th, 2024
ArborNote’s Tree of the Week is the Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa). It is the tallest and most widespread pine tree in the western United States. The National Register of Big Trees lists a ponderosa pine that is 235 ft tall and 27 ft in circumference. In January 2011, a Pacific ponderosa pine in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon was measured with a laser to be 268 ft 4 in high! Another odd bit of history about the Ponderosa Pine is it was used in nuclear testing. In 1953, a nuclear test was performed in which 145 ponderosa pines were cut down by the United States Forest Service and transported to Area 5 of the Nevada Test Site, where they were planted into the ground and exposed to a nuclear blast to see what the blast wave would do to a forest. The trees were partially burned and blown over. Ponderosa Pine’s defining characteristic is its thick orange bark, which often flakes off like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. The bark has been described as smelling like vanilla or butterscotch, depending on an individual’s sense of smell (a tree that has been in warm, direct sunlight often has the most noticeable aroma). The next time you encounter one, try to scratch and sniff and decide for yourself!
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