Comments on: The Incredible Inedible Pine Cone

By: Jennifer Frazer

Jennifer Frazer — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 19:21:57 +0000

Yes, scale is the word you want! Sorry it took me so long to reply.

By: Lois

Lois — Tue, 03 Dec 2013 11:33:38 +0000

I was looking up the name for the “petals” of a pine cone for a poem I was writing. Is “scale” the word I want–the shingle without the seed? The poem is about layering peach halves in a Mason jar (among other things)–which reminded me of the way the scales are layered in a pine cone. At any rate I enjoyed your exuberant writing.

By: Mike

Mike — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:06:26 +0000

There’s actually two different kinds of bristlecone pines, the intermountain and the rocky mountain. The intermountain pines claim the title of oldest living organism at just over four thousand years, where as the rocky mountain pine only has an organism of about 1,000. The rocky mountain pines can survive harsher conditions, however, higher altitudes and more acidic soil. I love these pines because they grow in some of the harshest environments in rocky soils and keep on thriving.

By: Contagions Round-up 13: A Grab Bag of Goodies « Contagions

Contagions Round-up 13: A Grab Bag of Goodies « Contagions — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 04:15:04 +0000

[…] what that stuff was. It looks like decaying pond scum on land. She also has a good post on the incredible, inedible pine cone at her old […]

By: Jennifer Frazer

Jennifer Frazer — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:30:25 +0000

Good point. I’ve amended the text.

And yes — my college botany textbook said it’s even longer — 45 years! Remarkable either way.

By: The Bobs

The Bobs — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:42:14 +0000

It is probably more accurate to say that the really long loved specimens inhabit the Great Basin rather than California. Most of the old trees are in Nevada. I’ve been to groves in the White Mountains of California and the Snake Range and Currant Mountain in Nevada.

Another interesting characteristic of the Bristlecone is that they only shed needles every 30 years or so. I think that is the longest period of any conifer.