Pinus sabiniana Seeds | Gray Pine
LATIN NAME: Pinus sabiniana
COMMON NAME: Gray Pine
Plant Profile
Gray pine is the strangest tree in the California foothills, and it looks half-starved on purpose: open crown, sparse grey needles, absurd cones. The branches are long and thin, the needles — in threes, 20 to 30 cm long, grey-green and drooping — hang in curtains rather than forming a solid mass, and the trunk often forks low and leans. The tree reaches 12 to 25 metres. Then there are the cones: massive, 15 to 25 cm long, with thick, woody scales and a sharp curved prickle on each, weighing up to half a kilo, and they hang in clusters for years. The seed inside is large, thin-shelled and edible. It grows on the hot, dry, rocky slopes of the Sacramento Valley, the Sierra foothills and the Coast Ranges, often on serpentine or clay, where few other trees will grow.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is a member of subsection Sabinianae, the California closed-cone relatives, though its cones open without fire. The architecture is a response to drought and to poor soil: an open crown with sparse foliage reduces water loss, a deep taproot and extensive lateral roots exploit fractured rock, and the grey, waxy needle coating reflects light. The huge cones are a dispersal strategy built around animals — the seed is too large and heavy to travel far on the wind, and it depends on jays, squirrels and woodrats to move and cache it, a relationship that has been documented in the archaeological record as well as the ecological one. The tree is also fire-adapted, with thick bark at the base and buds protected by long needles, and it resprouts from the trunk after moderate fire.
Uses & Benefits
The seed is the most important product historically. It was a staple for many California Indian peoples, gathered in autumn, eaten raw or roasted, and stored in quantities; the trees were managed and in some cases owned by families. The wood is soft, weak and not much use for timber, but it is dense enough to burn well and was used for fuel and for small household items. The tree is planted occasionally as an ornamental in dry western gardens, where its odd silhouette and enormous cones are a talking point, but it is not a conventional landscape tree and it looks bad in rich soil or with irrigation. Its main modern role is ecological: it holds steep, dry, rocky ground that would otherwise erode.
Growing from Seed
The seed is large and does not need much encouragement, but it benefits from a month of cold, moist stratification. Sow two centimetres deep in a deep pot of gritty compost at 18 to 22 °C; germination is usually within four to six weeks. The taproot grows fast, so pot on early and never let the seedling become root-bound in a shallow container. Grow it in full sun, in poor, sharply drained soil, and water only in the first two summers. Plant out on a slope or a dry bank, well away from anything that needs irrigating, since the tree resents summer water. It is hardy to about minus 12 and tolerates heat, drought and serpentine, but not shade or rich soil.
Our Take
An ungainly, wonderful tree for a hot dry slope, grown for its absurd cones and its long history as a food tree rather than for timber.
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