Original identification: Pinus albicaulis

Current identification: Pinus albicaulis

Photographer: Thomas Belfield

Date Photographed: June 27, 2019

Location: U.S.A., Washington, Yakima County: Darland Mountain

Elevation: 6659 ft.

Coordinates: 46.502654° N, 121.185754° W

Phenology: Cones

Comments: P. albicaulis cone, seed collected or eaten by Clark\'s nutcracker. Whitebark pine is sometimes referred to as a “bird pine” as Clark’s nutcrackers are the primary seed disperse of whitebark pine. The birds cache excess seed above what they need for their daily food requirement. The cached seed they leave behind allows for regeneration of seedlings. A Clark’s nutcracker can cache as many as 98,000 seeds per season.