Lodgepole Pine

Lodgepole pine is a hardy, attractive conifer native to western North America, thriving in montane and subalpine forests. It typically grows in dense stands with straight, slender trunks and narrow, needle-like leaves arranged in pairs. The species produces small, serotinous cones that often require fire or heat to release seeds, making it well-adapted to fire-prone ecosystems. Lodgepole pine provides critical habitat and food for wildlife, including birds and mammals, and plays a key role in forest succession and soil stabilization. It is a larval host of the western pine elfin, a butterfly native to pine woodlands, and birds eat the nuts. It also makes a good screen, windbreak, or hedge, and its wood is economically valuable for construction, pulp, and other forest products.