Trees
Douglas-fir
A native mountain conifer whose hanging cones have distinctive three-pointed bracts.
Limber pine
A slow-growing native pine of harsh mountain sites, with five needles in each bundle.
Limber pine grows at higher elevations in Utah and the interior West. Utah State University describes it as a long-lived, slow-growing tree that can occupy dry, difficult sites and tolerates little shade. Its flexible twigs help explain its common name.
Look for bundles of five dark-green needles, rather than the paired needles of two-needle pinyon. The woody cones have thick scales without pointed tips and contain large, wingless seeds. Needle bundles and cones are more useful identification clues than a tree’s outline alone.
Seeing it
Look at accessible foliage without breaking branches or collecting cones. Stay on durable surfaces around mountain trees and compare several features before naming a tree.