Family: Pinaceae, Pine view all from this family

Description Medium-sized tree with short trunk and broad, rounded crown of annual rows of stout branches nearly down to ground; or a windswept, deformed shrub at timberline.
Height: 40-50' (12-15 m).
Diameter: 2-3' (0.6-0.9 m).
Needles: evergreen; 5 in bundle, with sheath shedding first year; 2-3 1/2" (5-9 cm) long. Slender, long-pointed, not toothed; light or dark green, with white lines on all surfaces.
Bark: light gray and smooth; becoming dark brown and furrowed into scaly ridges or rectangular plates.
Twigs: slender, very tough and flexible.
Cones: 3-6" (7.5-15 cm) long; egg-shaped, yellow-brown, short-stalked; opening at maturity; cone-scales thick, rounded, ending in blunt point; seeds large and edible, with very short wing.

Habitat Dry, rocky slopes and ridges of high mountains up to timberline; often in pure stands.

Range Rocky Mountain region chiefly, from SE. British Columbia and SW. Alberta south to N. New Mexico and west to S. California; also local in NE. Oregon, SW. North Dakota, Black Hills of South Dakota, and W. Nebraska; at 5000-12,000' (1524-3658 m).

Discussion The names refer to the very tough and flexible twigs, which can sometimes be twisted into a knot. Plants on exposed ridges and at timberline are shaped by the wind into stunted shrubs with crooked or twisted branches that are bent over and are longer on one side. Birds and mammals, especially squirrels, consume the large seeds.