Bhutan White Pine
Bhutan White Pine (Pinus bhutanica) is a tree restricted to Bhutan and adjacent parts of northeast India and southwest China. Along with the related Blue Pine (Pinus wallichiana) it is a constituent of lower altitude blue pine forests. This pine reaches a height of 25 meters.
The needles are in bundles of five, up to 25 cm long. The cones are 12-20 cm in length, with thin scales; the seeds are 5-6 mm long, with a 20-25 mm wing. It differs from Blue Pine in the much longer, strongly drooping needles, and the cones being slightly smaller and red-brown, rather than yellow-buff, when mature. It is also adapted to generally warmer, wetter climates at lower altitudes, with an intense summer monsoon. Despite the two being closely related and at least occasionally growing together, no hybrids or intermediates have ever been reported.
