Habitat and Range
This enormous pine grows well on dry slopes with other pines. It generally grows under 9000 ft in all parts of the Sierra, but mainly on the western slope in mixed conifer and evergreen forests.
Physical Description
Sugar Pine grows to heights greater than 180 ft. It has long, slender, solitary, unbranching branches that often look wavy. The bark is reddish-brown and irregular. The leaves are needles, in bundles of 5, that are 2-3.5 inches long. Sugar Pine is easily distinguished by its enormous cone that is typically 1-2 ft long. They hang from the ends of branches in groups of 1-3. The seed is small and has a long wing.
Food Uses
All Pines (Pinus spp) have edible seeds. Most often, they are difficult to obtain. The cone should be picked off the tree when still green and its scales still closed. Otherwise, if you wait too long, the scales will open and release all the seeds. The best time to gather Sugar Pine cones is in September. You can exploit the work of a squirrel that has cut the cones from the ends of branches, and thereby avoid climbing up the tree and bouncing on the branch to make the cones fall off. Or more likely, use a long stick with a hooked end like natives traditionally used to pick the cones. Roast the cones in a fire to open the cone and obtain the seeds. The leaves, or needles, make a great tea high in Vitamin C. The inner bark, or cambium, is edible raw or scraped into cakes and dried for later use. Boil the dried cambium to soften it for consumption.
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