WELCOME TO
Biology 250
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus ponderosa
Quaking Aspen
Populus tremuloides
Description
Between 50-60 ft high and 1-2 ft in diameter at materity. Loose, irregular crown.
Leaves
Dark green and lustrous above, dull or pale below, round with a pointed tip.
Flowers
Red-gray drooping catkins up to 4 in long
Fruit
Capsules 1/4 in long, curved, two-valved
Habitat
Stream banks
Medium in size this tree often grows to heights of 70-390 feet tall.
Flat, soft needles and produce cones with persistent scales. The 2 cm needles are blue-green in color and some can also be dark green in color.
The Douglas Fir tree is somewhat broader than the Spruce tree with their branches spreading from 10 to 25 feet.
One of the fastest growing evergreen trees, the Douglas Fir has been known to live for hundreds of years!
Needles are single, very stiff and sharp pointed, angular or four-sided, 1 to 1-1/4 inches long, with a bluish color especially distinct on the new growth.
Cones are light brown and cylindrical, very sharp and 2-1/2 to4-1/2 inches long.
The bark is silvery gray-brown and composed of many thin scales divided into vertical ridges.
Colorado blue spruce grow 75 to 100 feet tall. They make good winter cover for wildlife.
Douglas Fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Blue Spruce
Picea pungens
Yellowstone's Forest
What most people think of when they hear the word 'forest'' is a tree, while Yellowstone has thousands of trees the types of trees is limited to only a small handfull.
Leaves
Needles borne singly; about 1" long; evergreen; blue-green to dark green;
4-angled; not as sharp pointed as blue spruce; tend to be crowded on around upper side of twig; fragrant when crushed.
Twigs/buds
Leaves attached with a short stalk that remains part of the twig, so twig rough; young twigs with minute hairs. Buds with scales that lie fairly flat.
Flowers/fruit
Fruit a papery cone that hangs down; about 1" to 2-1/2" long; light chestnut-brown; papery scales are slightly round-toothed at tip.
Bark
Red to purple-brown; made-up of thin scales; thinner than blue spruce.
60-100 ft high and 1 1/2 - 2 ft in diameter; crown often extending to the ground
Leaves
Deep blue-green, 1 - 1 3/4 inches long, upcurved, flattened
Flowers
Male dark blue, female dark violet-purple
Fruit
Cones 2-4 inches long, dark purple
Engelmann Spruce
Picea engelmannii
Sub-Alpine Fir
Albies lasiocarpa
Description
Between 150-180 ft high and 3-4 feet in diameter. Crown flat=topped or rounded; heavy horizontal branches.
Leaves
Needles in bundles of 3, 4-11 inches long, dark to yellow-green.
Flowers
Male yellow; female red. Clusted or paired
Fruit
Cones 2 1/2 - 6 inches long