Coulter pine
pinus coulteri latin

Big-cone Douglas Fir and Coulter Pine can be found at the higher elevations.

This species may be seen along the Coulter Pine Trail near the north (Mitchell Canyon) entrance.

Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri)

The next plant community above the park is the Coulter Pines and Yellow Pine Forest of the higher San Gabriel Mountains.

Apparently, the larger bill of the southern subspecies is an adaptation for being better able to feed on the large, spiny cones of Coulter Pines (Pinus coulteri).

It is a common parasite of several species of pine tree, including Jeffrey Pine, Ponderosa Pine, and Coulter Pine.

The vegetation includes oak woodlands and forests of Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi) and Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri).

Other plant communities found in area include oak woodland (Coast Live Oak, Valley Oak, etc.) and pine woodlands (Coulter Pine and Knobcone Pine).

Small seedlings of new White fir, Sugar Pine, Coulter Pine, Jeffrey Pine, and Incense Cedar were seen within a year of the Cedar Fire, and were thriving as saplings by 2007.

Coulter pines produce the largest cones of any pine tree species (people are actually advised to wear hardhats when working in Coulter pine groves), although the slender cones of the sugar pine are longer.

The Coulter pine occurs in a number of forest plant associations; for example, At higher elevations forestation of the San Jacinto Mountains Coulter Pine is co-dominant with the California black oak.

In October 2003, the Cedar Fire, the largest fire in recorded California history, burned the once abundant White Fir, Incense Cedar, Jeffrey Pine, Coulter Pine, Sugar Pine, and Black oak that once lined the mountain.

The Gray Pine - Digger Pine (Pinus sabineana) and rarer Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri) can be found at all elevations, especially between 800 ft. and 3000 ft. Coulter pine reaches its northern limit on northern of Mt. Diablo.

Coulter Pine (Pinus coulteri)