Bishop pine (Pinus muricata) of inland Marin County, CA

Abstract

The locations and characteristics of five, small, previously undescribed stands of bishop pine (Pinus muricata) in central Marin Co., California, are reported. Three stands lie on dry sites in the Kent Lake Drainage north of Mt. Tamalpais: San Geronimo Ridge, a spur ridge above Little Carson Cr., and Oat Hill. These stands are anomalous in occurring 15 km from the ocean and up to 435 m in elevation. The remaining two stands are on rocky, dry sites on the west slope of Bolinas Ridge, near the McCurdy Trail, and south of Wilkins Gulch. Trees of all stands have slower growth, more spindly stems, sparser crowns, and bear more abundant, serotinous cones than trees ofother northern California populations. Stomatal traits and number of leaf resin canals, however, resembled coastal bishop pines on Pt. Reyes. Bishop pine once may have grown more widespread in Marin Co., but mesic-adapted stands evolved on Pt. Reyes and xeric, fire-adapted stands evolved in the interior.

Citation

Millar, Constance I. 1986. Bishop pine (Pinus muricata) of inland Marin County, CA. Madroño 33(2): 123-129