Pinus ponderosa
Pinus ponderosa subsp. ponderosa Identification Guide
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Pinus
Subgenus:	Pinus
Species:	P. ponderosa
Binomial name
Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C.Lawson
Range map of Pinus ponderosa and Pinus arizonica

Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine,^[1] or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane. The ponderosa pine is the official state tree of the State of Montana.

Distribution[link]

Pinus ponderosa is a dominant tree in the Kuchler plant association, the Ponderosa shrub forest. Like most western pines, the ponderosa is associated with mountainous topography. It is found on the Black Hills and on foothills and mid-height peaks of the northern, central and southern Rocky Mountains as well as the Cascades and Sierra Nevada, and the Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests.

Description[link]

The thick cinnamon-red bark of older trees is divided into large, exfoliating plates (Yosemite National Park).

The bark of Ponderosa Pine helps to distinguish it from other species. Mature individuals have cinnamon-red bark with black crevasses. Younger trees have black to reddish-brown bark. The tree can often be identified by its characteristic long needles that grow in tufts of two or three, depending on subspecies. Its needles are also the only known food of the caterpillars of the gelechiid moth Chionodes retiniella.

Sources differ on the scent of the Ponderosa Pine. Some state that the Ponderosa Pine has no distinctive scent,^[2] while others state that the bark smells like vanilla if sampled from a furrow of the bark.^[3] Sources agree that the Jeffrey Pine is more strongly scented than the Ponderosa Pine.^[2][4]

Size[link]

The National Register of Big Trees lists a Ponderosa Pine that is 235 ft (72 m) tall and 324 in (820 cm) in circumference.^[5] In January 2011, a Pacific Ponderosa Pine in Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon was measured with a laser to be 268.35 ft (81.79 m) high. The measurement was performed by Michael Taylor and Mario Vaden, a professional arborist from Oregon. The tree was climbed on October 13, 2011, by Ascending The Giants (a tree climbing company in Portland, Oregon) and directly measured with tape-line at 268.29 ft (81.77 m) high. ^[6][7] This Ponderosa Pine is now the tallest known pine. The previous tallest known pine was a Sugar Pine.

Taxonomy[link]

Modern forestry research identifies four different taxa of Ponderosa Pine, with differing botanical characters and adapted to different climatic conditions. These have been termed "geographic races" in forestry literature, while some botanists historically treated them as distinct species. In modern botanical usage, they best match the rank of subspecies, but not all of the relevant botanical combinations have been formally published.

Subspecies[link]

Subspecies scopulorum, Custer State Park, SD

1. Pinus ponderosa subsp. ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson - North Plateau Ponderosa Pine.
   • Range & climate: southeast British Columbia, Washington and Oregon east of the Cascade Range, Arizona, northwestern Nevada, Idaho and western Montana. Cool, relatively moist summers; very cold, snowy winters (except in the very hot and very dry summers of central Oregon, most notably near Bend, which also has very cold and generally dry winters).
2. Pinus ponderosa subsp. scopulorum (Engelm.) E. Murray - Rocky Mountains Ponderosa Pine.
   • Range & climate: eastern Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, northern and central Colorado and Utah, and eastern Nevada. Warm, relatively dry summers; very cold, fairly dry winters.
3. Pinus brachyptera Engelm. - Southwestern Ponderosa Pine
   • Range & climate: southern Colorado, southern Utah, northern and central New Mexico and Arizona, and westernmost Texas. The Gila Wilderness contains one of the world's largest and healthiest forests.^[8] Hot, relatively moist summers; mild winters.
4. Pinus benthamiana Hartw. - Pacific Ponderosa Pine
   • Range & climate: Washington and Oregon west of the Cascade Range, California, and just into westernmost Nevada. Hot, dry summers; mild wet winters.

The distributions of the subspecies, and that of the closely related Arizona Pine (Pinus arizonica) are shown on the map. The numbers on the map correspond to the taxon numbers above and in the table below. The base map of the species range is from Critchfield & Little, Geographic Distribution of the Pines of the World, USDA Forest Service Miscellaneous Publication 991 (1966).

Before the distinctions between the North Plateau race and the Pacific race were fully documented, most botanists assumed that Ponderosa Pines in both areas were the same. So when two botanists from California found a distinct tree in western Nevada in 1948 with some marked differences from the Ponderosa Pine they were familiar with in California, they described it as a new species, Washoe Pine, Pinus washoensis. However, subsequent research has shown that this is merely a southern outlier of the typical North Plateau race of Ponderosa Pine.

An additional variety, tentatively named Pinus ponderosa var. willamettensis, is found in the Willamette Valley in western Oregon, but is now rare.^[9]

Distinguishing subspecies[link]

Notes:
Taxon numbers refer to the map
Needles per fascicle - the most frequent number is in bold
Seedwing : seed length ratio - high numbers indicate a small seed with a long wing; low numbers a large seed with a short seedwing

Threats[link]

Blue stain fungus, Grosmannia clavigera, attacks this species from the mouth of the Mountain Pine Beetle.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ponderosa Pine

• Ponderosa shrub forest
• Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus ponderosa. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• Baumgartner, D. M. & Lotan, J. E. (eds.) (1988). Ponderosa Pine the species and its management. Symposium proceedings. Cooperative Extension, Washington State University.
• Conkle, M. T. & Critchfield, W. B. (1988). Genetic Variation and Hybridization of Ponderosa Pine. Pp. 27–44 in Baumgartner, D. M. & Lotan, J. E. (eds.).
• Critchfield, W. B. (1984). Crossability and relationships of Washoe Pine. Madroño 31: 144-170.
• Farjon, A. (2nd ed., 2005). Pines. Brill, Leiden & Boston. ISBN 90-04-13916-8.
• Haller, J. R. (1961). Some recent observations on Ponderosa, Jeffrey and Washoe Pines in Northeastern California. Madroño 16: 126-132.
• Haller, J. R. (1965). Pinus washoensis in Oregon: taxonomic and evolutionary implications. Amer. J. Bot. 52: 646.
• Haller, J. R. (1965). The role of 2-needle fascicles in the adaptation and evolution of Ponderosa Pine. Brittonia 17: 354-382.
• Lauria, F. (1991). Taxonomy, systematics, and phylogeny of Pinus subsection Ponderosae Loudon (Pinaceae). Alternative concepts. Linzer Biol. Beitr. 23 (1): 129-202.
• Lauria, F. (1996). The identity of Pinus ponderosae Douglas ex C.Lawson (Pinaceae). Linzer Biol. Beitr. 28 (2): 99-1052.
• Lauria, F. (1996). Typification of Pinus benthamiana Hartw. (Pinaceae), a taxon deserving renewed botanical examination. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 98 (B Suppl.): 427-446.
• Smith, R. H. (1977). Monoterpenes of Ponderosa Pine xylem resin. USDA Tech. Bull. 1532.
• Smith, R. H. (1981). Variation in Immature Cone Color of Ponderosa Pine (Pinaceae) inNorthern California and Southern Oregon. Madroño 28: 272-274.
• Van Haverbeke, D. F. (1986). Genetic Variation in Ponderosa Pine: A 15-Year Test of Provenances in the Great Plains. USDA Forest Service Research Paper RM-265.
• Wagener, W. W. (1960). A comment on cold susceptibility of Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pines. Madroño 15: 217-219.

Further reading[link]

• Chase, J. Smeaton (1911). Cone-bearing Trees of the California Mountains. Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co.. pp. 99. LCCN 11004975. OCLC 3477527.  LCC QK495.C75 C4, with illustrations by Carl Eytel - Kurut, Gary F. (2009), "Carl Eytel: Southern California Desert Artist", California State Library Foundation, Bulletin No. 95, pp. 17-20 retrieved Nov. 13, 2011

External links[link]

• USDA Plants Profile: Pinus ponderosa
• Gymnosperm Database: Pinus ponderosa
• Jepson Manual treatment - Pinus ponderosa
• Pinus ponderosa - Photo Gallery

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2011)

Dan Meirion Walker is an English sports journalist. He is the current presenter of Football Focus, the BBC's Saturday lunchtime football show. He has also been seen presenting sport on the BBC News Channel and BBC Network News, as well as regularly reporting for Score, Football Focus and Match of the Day.

He was born on the 19th March, 1977 in Crawley, West Sussex and earned an honours degree in History at the University of Sheffield, before continuing to attain an MA in Journalism at the same institution.

Radio career[link]

Walker's first foray into broadcasting was co-presenting two shows on the University of Sheffield's Sure FM student radio station - the midweek sports-themed evening show and 'Dan & Edd In The Afternoon', for which he and co-presenter Ed Hoyland were nominated for a BBC Radio One Student Radio award.

Gained as the prize for winning a competition for young sports commentators, Dan's professional broadcasting career started with work experience at Sheffield's Hallam FM, working with presenters such as Emma Scott, Anthony Gay, Daryl Denham and Scottie McClue. In 1999 Walker moved to a full-time career with a 4 year stint as a sports presenter and commentator for Manchester's Key 103 radio. In his time at Key 103 he presented the regular midweek sports show (often broadcasting from UEFA Champions League matches at Manchester United's Old Trafford ground, and also appeared as the resident sports correspondent for Mike Toolan's breakfast show.

In addition, he had two short-lived comedic roles whilst at the station. The first was in 2001 on Justin Moorhouse's Piccadilly Magic 1152 show, doing 'special investigations' into numerous comical topics, such as brushes, cement and patios. While these segments were warmly received by listeners, they lasted only months before being canned. The second was in 2002 on Adam Cole's Key 103 afternoon show, where, as Cosmic Dave, Walker took on the persona of a sham psychic and spiritualist, who physically abused his oompa-loompa assistant and fluffed even basic attempts at reading the minds of listeners and the host, before eventually being tracked down to his 'deep secret underground bureau' by the Oompa Loompa Protection Front and apparently dying. The segments were something of a success (being nominated for a New York Radio Award) and were discussed and replayed on other shows on the network, with Cosmic Dave's 'death' prompting over 2,500 messages on the station's website. However, Walker's diversification into comedy would end with his move into television.

Television career[link]

Walker moved into TV with a 6-month spell at Granada Television in Manchester, appearing as a commentator on the Football League Review, before joining BBC regional news programme North West Tonight. During this time, he was nominated for a number of awards and won the Royal Television Society Sports Award in 2005 for Regional Sports Presenter of the Year. He was unable to attend the ceremony because he was covering the Champions League final in Istanbul.

In 2006 Walker started working in London and in 2008 started presenting and reporting at Wimbledon, The Open, Aintree, Ascot and The Derby at Epsom as well as the 6 Nations.

In August 2009 Walker took over from Manish Bhasin as the presenter of Football Focus. He also presents the web-based Friday preview Friday Focus and writes a blog on the BBC website where he discusses the show and football in general. He is also a regular user of social networking service Twitter, and is responsible for the weekly "Tuesday Team News" phenomenon where users are invited to submit desperate puns based around footballers and teams.

Walker was part of the BBC Sport team covering the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[1] He spent the tournament travelling from Cape Town at the start of the tournament to Johannesburg for the final in a double-decker bus, filming packages to be shown both as part of the TV coverage and online, and providing commentary and news via the BBC's online channels and Twitter. The bus visited a diverse selection of places along its 6,000 km journey – from townships and social projects to sites of cultural and historic significance, with the intention being to provide UK viewers with a flavour of the host nation both inside and out of the stadia.

In addition to his TV work, Walker has returned to radio and can often be heard presenting the midweek 5 Live Sport show for BBC Radio 5 Live.

Personal life[link]

Walker is the son of a Baptist preacher, and his own Christian faith developed in his youth and early adulthood.^[2] He has never worked or played sport on Sundays as a result.^[3] He revealed in an interview with The Sun that he had been offered youth contracts with several football teams but refused due to games being scheduled for Sunday.^[4]

He has been married since 2001 and has three children.^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Day One Magazine 2008 - Dan Walker
• Grace Magazine 2002 - Dan Walker
• 'Christian BBC footie host who refuses to work on a Sunday' - The Sun, 11th August 2009
• Dan Walker TV Newsroom Questions and Answers 2006