Pinus flexilus (Limber Pine)

Order Pinales, Family Pinaceae, Genus Pinus

Pinus flexilus
is not common in our woods, but there are more of them than I originally thought, sparsely intersperced among the other conifers. Few individuals I have seen are large; most are very young plants. In some parts of North America they are afflicted with White Pine Blister Rust, a fungus for which the alternate host is Ribes, or Gooseberry. The Limbers in the Caribou area have been hit hard by beetles. Wikipedia, USDA, and Southwest Colorado Wildflowers have more information.

Here's a close up of a healthy group with multiple stems.

 

Mature bark is dark and roughly.

 

Young bark is gray and smooth with blisters.

 

Limber Pine has five needles per bundle.

 

The female cones of Limber Pine are very beautiful and robust.

 

Male pollen cones spread their pollen during June and July.