 | Pinus torreyana var. torreyana Common NamesMainland Torrey pine (1).Taxonomic notesDescription"Trees to 15 m in native stands (to 23 m in sheltered sites); mature crown of sheltered trees narrower than tree height, fairly open in natural sites. Seed cones mostly broadly ovoid, as broad as long or longer, mostly less than 13.5 cm; umbos mostly shorter than 6mm, terminal portion curved outward. Seeds to 12 mm wide, averaging less than 11 mm, light to medium brown with dark mottling. 2n=24" (1).RangeUSA: California: occurs naturally only in a relict stand near the coast at Del Mar in San Diego County (elevation 0-125 m). Habitat dry fogbelt zone on eroding, mostly dry slopes. Species is rare and so, of conservation concern (1). Population 3,401 mature trees in 1973, with a total of about 7,000 inclusive of seedlings and saplings (3).Big TreeHeight 38.4 m, dbh 198 cm, crown spread 39 m, located in Carpenteria, CA; also, height 40.5 m and dbh 129 cm, in Sacramento, CA (2). These are both cultivated trees.OldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanySee P. torreyana species page.ObservationsThe bulk of its surviving native habitat is contained in the Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, CA. The Reserve is for day use only and provides access to the tree both by road and by a series of short trails. A smaller habitat fragment, containing some remarkably large trees, can be seen at the Quail Botanical Gardens in nearby Encinitas.RemarksCitations(1) Kral in Flora of North America online.(2) E-mail communication from Robert Van Pelt, who measured these trees; 18-Mar-1998. (3) F.T. Ledig & M.T. Conkle 1983. Gene diversity and genetic structure in a narrow endemic, Torrey pine. Evolution 37: 79-85. This page co-edited with M.P. Frankis, Mar-1999. |
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