The Ancient Bristlecone Pines
Sometimes on our return trip from Mammoth Lakes we have stopped by the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest located high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California. Some living trees in the forest are over 4000 years old and their adaptation to the extremely harsh and challenging environment makes for some interesting warped and twisted trunks and branches.
Our hike in the Schulman Grove started near the visitor’s center which is at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The Bristlecone Pines are able to grow in the alkaline soil here which is why there are not very many other plants growing where the trees are.
Here one member of our party is taking a closer look which also serves to show the scale of how big the trees are.
The wood of the Bristlecone Pine trees is very dense and resinous so is resistant to invasion from pests. Rather than rot exposed wood erodes like stone from rain, wind, etc. Some dead trees will remain standing for centuries.
Some of the interesting tree formations. The trees growing in the White Mountains are Great Basin bristlecone pine Pinus longaeva. Two other species of bristlecone pine grow in other parts of the West.
The bristlecone pine is extremely drought tolerant, due to its branched shallow root system and its needles. The name came from the prickly bristle on the female cones.
It was clear enough to see the Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance.
A telephoto view of the distant mountains.
Two very gnarled trees, one living, one not. The observant might see the small half moon at the top center of the picture.
The deep blue sky makes for a dramatic backdrop.
Because of their great age the Bristlecone Pines are an interest to researchers and scientists. Here the ranger enlisted my niece and nephew to help use a device called an increment borer to extract a small cross-section of the tree.
Samples such as this provide a look at each tree ring which allows the age and growth pattern to be determined. Back in the 1960’s it was discovered that the radiocarbon dating being used had some flaws. Samples from these and other trees established a calibration factor to correct the dating process. With this Archeologists found that some artifacts discovered in Europe were actually 1000 years or older than previously thought.
A different view of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
With the setting sun it is time to leave the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest and return home.
More Information:
Forest Service Information for the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
Forest Service Information for Bristlecone Pine Natural History
Patriarch Grove is home to the world s largest bristlecone pine, the Patriarch Tree. Its splendid remoteness and moonscape appearance gives the Patriarch Grove a surreal atmosphere. Bristlecone pines and limber pines dot the landscape with a background view of the Great Basin in Nevada.