The bark is thin, orangey-brown to gray, and finely scaled.
Seed cones vary in shape from short and cylindrical to egg-shaped. It
is 2 to 4 centimeters long without stalks. The seed scales have sharp
prickles at their tips. The Lodgepole is a tall, slender, straight tree
which grows throughout most of the interior of British Columbia.
Many First Nations peoples in British Columbia used the wood from lodgepole
pine for a variety of purposes, including poles for lodges, homes, or
buildings. In the spring, they stripped off long ribbons or "noodles"
of the sweet succulent inner bark (cambium layer). It was eaten fresh
in the spring, sometimes with sugar, or stored.
Older lodgepole pine trees are susceptible to mountain pine beetle. The
beetle tunnels under the bark and lays its eggs. As the tree dies, the
color of the needles changes from green to rusty-brown. Lodgepole pine
is also susceptible to mistletoe, rusts, and root rot. It provides food
for many small mammals (e.g., snowshoe hare, vole, and squirrels) that
feed on the inner bark.
Needles occur in bunches of two and are often twisted in a spiral with
sharp points; usually dark green.
Lodgepole pine is a highly adaptable tree that can grow in all sorts of
environments, from waterlogged bogs to dry sandy soils.
Its leaves are needle like, and at least 4 times longer than wide. The
needles are in clusters of 2, and are yellow-green; the buds are short.