Pinus sabiniana aka Bull Pine

Pinus sabiniana is an evergreen tree in the pine family. Its common names include gray pine and foothill pine. It comes from California, including the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada. It grows on dry, rocky slopes, alone or in small groups. Its pale foliage and open crown give it a light outline. Gardens can use it as a specimen or woodland canopy tree.

Trees often reach 40–70 feet [12–21 metres] in height. Some grow taller, with one source giving 82 feet [25 metres]. The trunk often forks or forms several crooked stems. The rounded crown has sparse foliage and an uneven shape. Thick, dark gray-brown bark splits into deep grooves and rough plates. Flaking patches reveal reddish-brown bark beneath them. Young twigs are stout, rough, and orange-brown. Slender needles hang in bundles of three. Their gray-green to pale blue-green color helps identify the tree.

Male and female cones grow on the same tree. The male cones are yellow, while young female cones are dark purple. Wind carries the pollen during flowering from May to June. The tree does not set seed through self-pollination. Mature cones are large, heavy, and woody, with thick scales. Each scale ends in a stout spine, straight or curved. Cones can stay on the tree for three to seven years. They release large seeds while still attached to the branches.

Give this pine sun and soil that drains well. Oregon State also reports that it accepts light shade. Sandy or gravelly loam suits it, but it can grow in clay. It also grows in poor soil and withstands drought once established. Sources place it in USDA zones 8–10. Young trees grow fast, sometimes adding about 2 feet [0.6 metres] yearly. Plants For A Future notes that cultivated trees can be short-lived. Its sparse roots make early planting in a lasting site important.

The large seeds have thick shells and contain much oil and protein. People eat them raw or cooked. They were an important food for Indigenous peoples in California. Roasted green cones have a soft, sweet center. The inner bark is edible, chiefly as an emergency food. The leaves can serve as a tea substitute. The tree also supplies chewing gum and resin-derived oil. Its needles yield tan or green dye.