Pinus balfouriana
Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Orthokaryota
Cladus: Neokaryota
Cladus: Photokaryota
Cladus: Diaphoretickes
Cladus: CAM
Cladus: Archaeplastida
Regnum: Plantae
Regnum*: Viridiplantae
Cladus: Streptophyta
Cladus: Phragmoplastophyta
Regnum*: Embryophyta
Divisio*: Tracheophyta
Divisio: Pinophyta
Classis: Pinopsida
Ordo: Pinales
Familia: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: P. subg. Strobus
Sectio: P. sect. Parrya
Subsectio: P. subsect. Balfourianae
Species: Pinus balfouriana
Subspecies: P. b. subsp. balfouriana – P. b. subsp. austrina
Name
Pinus balfouriana Balf. in A. Murray, Bot. Exped. Oregon 8: 1 (1853).
Synonyms
Heterotypic
Pinus balfouriana subsp. austrina R.J.Mastrog. & J.D.Mastrog., Syst. Bot. 5: 102 (1980).
Pinus balfouriana var. austrina (R.J.Mastrog. & J.D.Mastrog.) Silba, Phytologia Mem. 7: 48 (1984).
Taxonomic notes
Subspecies not accepted by Govaerts et al. (2023) based upon Farjon, but Businsky (2008) and most of the other references accept the subspecies.
Distribution
Native distribution areas:
Northern America
Southwestern U.S.A.
California.
References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references
Murray, A. 1853. Botanical Expedition to Oregon 8: 1, plate
Additional references
Kral, R. 1993. Pinus. Pp. 373-398 in Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.), Flora of North America North of Mexico. Volume 2: Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, XVI, 475 pp. ISBN 0-19-508242-7. efloras FNA Website Internet Archive, Lending Library Hybrid open access journal Reference page.
Businský, R. 2008. The genus Pinus L., pines: contribution to knowledge. A monograph with cone drawings of all species of the world by Ludmila Businská. Acta Pruhoniciana 88: 1–126. PDF (Text) Photos 1–32 Photos 33–42 Figures 1–73Reference page.
Farjon, A. 2001. World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. 2. ed., 309 pp. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-025-0 Reference page.
Farjon, A. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. 2 vols., pp. 1–526 + 527–1111, Koninklijke Brill, Leiden, Boston. ISBN 978-90-04-17718-5. Reference page.
Links
Farjon, A. 2013. Pinus balfouriana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013. IUCN Red List Category: Near Threatened . DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42345A2974187.en.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2023. Pinus balfouriana in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2023 March 4. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2023. Pinus balfouriana. Published online. Accessed: March 4 2023. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2023. World Plants. Synonymic Checklist and Distribution of the World Flora. . Pinus balfouriana. Accessed: 4 March 2023.
Hassler, M. 2023. Pinus balfouriana. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2023. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2023 March 4. Reference page.
Calflora
RBGE Threatened Conifers,
Gymnosperm Database
iNaturalist
Lanner's Conifers of California
Vernacular names
беларуская: Сасна Бальфура
català: Pi de cua de guineu
čeština: Borovice Balfourova
Deutsch: Fuchsschwanz-Kiefer
English: Foxtail Pine
español: Pino de Balfour
eesti: Balfouri mänd
suomi: Revonhäntämänty
français: Pin de Balfour
italiano: Pino coda di volpe
lietuvių: Lapuodegė pušis
norsk: Revehalefuru
русский: Сосна Бальфура
Türkçe: Tilki kuyruklu çam
Pinus balfouriana, the foxtail pine, is a rare high-elevation pine that is endemic to California, United States. It is closely related to the Great Basin and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines, in the subsection Balfourianae.
Description
A Foxtail Pine in the southern Sierra Nevada.
P. balfouriana is a tree to 10–20 m (30–70 ft) tall, exceptionally 35 m (115 ft), with a trunk up to 2 m (7 ft) across. Its leaves are needle-like, in bundles of five (or sometimes four, in the southern Sierra) with a semi-persistent basal sheath, and 2–4 cm (1–1+1⁄2 in) long, deep glossy green on the outer face, and white on the inner faces; they persist for 10–15 years. The cones are 6–11 cm (2+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) long, dark purple ripening red-brown, with soft, flexible scales each with a 1-millimeter (1⁄16-inch) central prickle.
Distribution
P. balfouriana occurs in the subalpine forest at an elevation of 1,950–2,750 m (6,400–9,020 ft) in the Klamath Mountains, and at 2,300–3,500 m (7,500–11,500 ft) in the Sierra Nevada. In the Sierra Nevada, Foxtail pines are limited to the area around Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In both areas, it is often a tree line species.
There are two disjunct populations:
| Image | Subspecies | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
 |
Pinus balfouriana var. balfouriana | southern Klamath Mountains |
 |
Pinus balfouriana var. austrina | the southern Sierra Nevada[4] |
A small outlying population was reported in southern Oregon, but was proven to have been misidentified.[5]
Age
It is thought that P. balfouriana can live up to 3000 years in the Sierra Nevada, although the highest currently proven age is 2110 years. In the Klamath Mountains, ages are only known to about 1000 years.
In the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness.
Related species
P. balfouriana is closely related to the bristlecone pines, being classified in the same subsection Balfourianae; it has been hybridised with the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine in cultivation, though no hybrids have ever been found in the wild.
References
Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus balfouriana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T42345A2974187. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42345A2974187.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
NatureServe (2024). "Pinus balfouriana". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
"Pinus balfouriana Balf". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
Moore, Gerry; Kershner, Bruce; Craig Tufts; Daniel Mathews; Gil Nelson; Spellenberg, Richard; Thieret, John W.; Terry Purinton; Block, Andrew (2008). National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. New York: Sterling. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-4027-3875-3.
Kauffmann, Michael E. (2012). Conifer Country. Kneeland, CA: Backcountry Press. ISBN 978-0-578-09416-8. OCLC 798852130.
Further reading
Chase, J. Smeaton (1911). "Pinus balfouriana (Foxtail-pine, Balfour-pine)". Cone-bearing Trees of the California Mountains. Eytel, Carl (illustrations). Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co. pp. 44–46. LCCN 11004975. OCLC 3477527.
Bailey, D.K. 1970. Phytogeography and taxonomy of Pinus subsection Balfourianae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 57: 210–249.
Mastrogiuseppe, R.J. & Mastrogiuseppe, J.D. 1980. A study of Pinus balfouriana Grev. & Balf. (Pinaceae). Systematic Botany 5: 86–104.
Richardson, D.M. (ed.). 1998. Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 530 p. ISBN 0-521-55176-5.
Fryer, Janet L. (2004). "Pinus balfouriana". Fire Effects Information System (FEIS). US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (USFS), Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory.
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