Ponderosa Pine (Ep. 9) - Botany with Brit

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Today we visit Sula, Montana to see the old bark-peeled grove of Ponderosa Pine trees at Indian Tree Campground. These thriving ponderosas still bear the scars from Bitterroot Salish women harvesting their bark for food 200 years ago.
This tree had many other uses: the pitch was used as a glue and waterproofing agent and was chewed as gum, the trunks were made into dugout canoes, the needles were used in basketry and boiled to make a solution for cough or fever, and the trunks and limbs were used as firewood and building material.
Ponderosa pines have purple pinecones when they are fresh on the tree. A mammoth, hulking chipmunk enlightened me to this fact on a hike in Montana as he postured aggressively in front of his purple pinecone booty. I have never seen a bigger chipmunk, or a more bright purple pine cone. Once the cones fall off the tree and dry out they turn brown, spherical, and can be distinguished by a prickle on each scale. The bark of ponderosa pines is a distinctive orange color divided into plates by darker brown fissures, and bits of the bark flake off in puzzle-piece shapes that you can find littering the base of the tree. On a warm day you might also be able to identify the tree by scent - it smells like vanilla!
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[@tnmantn8938]

TY…great presentation!💯

[@FreeThinking999]

GREAT video. Thanks. The best of its type.

[@BotanywithBrit]

Thank you so much!

[@kneedeepinbluebells5538]

Hey Brit - What can I say ... I ADORE My Ponderosa's ( both the 4' Nursery ones; Now 6-8 Feet AND Their wild cousins growing all around them withOUT any help from Me ) Since they are indigenous here in the Black Hills, SD. They make me look like a WAY Better grower than I actually am 😉

[@BotanywithBrit]

That's excellent!

[@noracoolen2167]

Amazing tree

[@ravennelson827]

So informative and like the history included.....TY young lady

[@BotanywithBrit]

Thank you - I love the history too!

[@Gnarmarmilla]

Thank you very much. Fantastic info. Could you please show us how seeds are germinated? I can’t find a good video on KZbin about that for Ponderosa Pines. Thank you. May God bless you, ma’m

[@BotanywithBrit]

Thanks for the request! I will put that on my list of potential videos in the future.

[@matthewbarnhart5874]

I just planted a Ponderosa pine. I would like to get it as good a head start as possible. I water it twice a week. I live at the edge of the range they can grow in Minneapolis. This winter I will be giving it a burlap wrap to prevent snow damage but as the climate is getting hotter the winter in MN has weakened. what tips do you have?

[@BotanywithBrit]

Honestly, I haven't tried planting one before but you seem on the right track!

[@LittleSpaceCase]

thank u i luv it

[@joshuabierle1182]

Excellent content and great information, all in a short format. Perfect - thank you!

[@BotanywithBrit]

So glad you enjoyed it and found it useful!

[@hellohi5447]

Great video. Just some important information you should have put and missed is ponderosa pine can be toxic. Please be aware of this.

[@BotanywithBrit]

You are right! Thank you for highlighting this.

[@TheBackpackingBiologist]

Super informative, thanks for the info! Keep it up please :)

[@BotanywithBrit]

Thanks so much! We've got a bunch of new episodes in the works!

[@janpeters-jansongsproducti1010]

Brit, this is so cool! I’m so happy I found this and that you’re doing this!

[@BotanywithBrit]

Thanks Jan!! We've got more coming soon!

[@janpeters-jansongsproducti1010]

@@BotanywithBrit Fantastic I will certainly share with my plant minded people‘s!

[@BotanywithBrit]

@@janpeters-jansongsproducti1010 Thank you!!

[@zt4736]

fun video! you did a great job being concise and keeping us engaged. we have a 2 foot tall ponderosa pine in the front yard we want to dig up and transplant. By your calculations, I hope the roots arent 10 feet deep lol!

[@BotanywithBrit]

I hope not too! I hope the transplant goes well :)

[@zt4736]

@@BotanywithBrit it went poorly LOL :(

[@BotanywithBrit]

@@zt4736 nooo!

[@DanQuoLives]

The image of a pine cone looks like Jeffery Pine. The same for the vanilla smell.

[@JohnDoe-qg6hm]

It did harm the tree as its now full of rot. Typical !

[@comeseetheviolenceinherent579]

Can I grow these in middle Ohio? It falls in hardiness zone 6. I have always loved the look of them.