Pinus jeffreyi

This pyramidal, tall tree 80-120' native to SW Oregon to Baja has short, spreading, sometimes pendulous branches, striking platy cinnamon bark and long gray-green needles, this pine closely resembles the Ponderosa Pine, however Pinus ponderosa is said to smell of citrus and the Jeffrey Pine of vanilla, Pinus jeffreyi also features larger, longer cones and darker bark. S/M-D

The Jeffrey Pine looks similar to the closely related Ponderosa Pine, and the two share a wide range overlap in southern Oregon and northern California. The major difference between the two is that Jeffrey Pines are much tougher and look healthy even in very harsh conditions. It is one of the few pines that can thrive in soils high in copper, chrome, magnesium, and nickel but low levels of calcium like the serpentine soils in Oregon's Siskiyou Mountains. Trees will also thrive in free draining slopes made of volcanic cinders where very few other species would grow, or in nearly solid granite slopes. The thick trunk and branches are strong and stand up well to snow and wind in extreme northern or high elevation locations, and the roots grow thick and deep to protect the tree from blowing over.