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| ## Gray Pine {#gray-pine .Title-Header}                               |
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| *Pinus sabiniana* Dougl. ex Dougl.                                    |
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| Plant Symbol = PISA2                                                  |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

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###### Alternative Names

foothill pine, bull pine, digger pine, California foothill pine

###### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The seeds of gray pine were eaten by many California
Indian tribes and are still served in Native American homes today. They
can be eaten fresh and whole in the raw state, roasted, or pounded into
flour and mixed with other types of seeds. The seeds were eaten by the
Pomo, Sierra Miwok, Western Mono, Wappo, Salinan, Southern Maidu,
Lassik, Costanoan, and Kato, among others. Sierra Miwok men climbed the
trees and twisted the green cones off by hand before the seeds were
fully developed. These immature cones were roasted for 20 minutes in hot
ashes, yielding a brown, sweet syrup. The pitch of the gray pine was
used as a medicine by the Western Mono and the branches were made into
household utensils for stirring acorn mush. The Costanoan used the pitch
as a treatment for rheumatism. The needles were used for thatch,
bedding, and floor covering and the bark for house covering by the
Sierra Miwok. The branches and roots were used in California Indian
basketry and still gathered to a limited extent by contemporary weavers.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.2916666666666665in" height="3.4375in"}

*Wildlife*[:]{.underline} Numerous birds feed on the seeds of gray pine
including the red-shafted flicker, California jay, and band-tailed
pigeon. The foliage, bark, and seeds provide food for black bears,
Douglas chickarees, and

gray squirrels. Mule and white-tailed deer browse the foliage and twigs.

###### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status, such as, state noxious
status, and wetland indicator values.

###### Description

*General*: Pine Family (Pinaceae). This native tree reaches 38 m in
height with a trunk less than 2 m wide. The gray-green foliage is sparse
and it has three needles per bundle. Each needle reaches 9-38 cm in
length. The trunk often grows in a crooked fashion and is deeply grooved
when mature. The seed cone of gray pine is pendent, 10-28 cm, and opens
slowly during the second season, dispersing winged seeds.

###### Distribution

It ranges in parts of the California Floristic Province, the western
Great Basin and western deserts. For current distribution, please
consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

Establishment

*Adaptation*: This tree is found in the foothill woodland, northern oak
woodland, chaparral, mixed conifer forests and hardwood forests from
150-1500m.

Extract seeds from the cones and gently rub the wings off, and soak them
in water for 48 hours, drain them, and thoroughly surface-dry. Put seeds
in a plastic bag, without any medium, seal the bag and place them in
refrigerated conditions until their chilling treatment begins. Allow
three times the air space as seed space in the bag. It is best to sow
the seeds in May and therefore, expose the seeds to a chilling treatment
of at least sixteen weeks prior to sowing. After cold stratification,
plant the seeds in a well-drained coarse potting mix in leach tubes that
are narrow but deep with two seeds per tube. These containers should
allow roots to reach the air and stop growing and be at least 6 inches
deep. Fertilize the containers with a starter formulation of fertilizer
with low or zero nitrogen. These containers can be kept in a greenhouse
for the first 4 to 6 weeks, receiving 70-degree temperatures during the
day. Keep the surface of the soil moist during the germination phase.
Next after the first set of cotyledons, water the plants with a deep,
thorough soaking and let the plants dry in between watering. Thin the
plants down to one per container and move the pots into a shade-house
with 30 percent shade after 4 to 6 weeks. Protect the plants from wind
and wildlife. During the main summer growing season use a balanced
fertilizer applied to each container. At the end of the growing season
use a finisher formulation of fertilizer. Plant the plants in the ground
outside in the late winter or early spring in moist soil. Conduct
supplemental hand watering or irrigation if the rains are insufficient.
Clear weeds in a 3 feet by 3 feet area around the plants to encourage
better survival and growth rate. Make sure a protective barrier is
placed around the conifers such as vexar tubing to shield them from jack
rabbits, deer and other wildlife that may feed on the leaves, stems, and
roots.

###### Management

The Pomo pruned the trees periodically.

###### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

This species is available from most nurseries within its range that
handle native plants. Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation
Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more
information. Look in the phone book under "United States Government."
The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the
subheading "Department of Agriculture."

###### References

Barrett, S.A. & E.W. Gifford 1933. *Miwok material culture*. Bulletin of
the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 2(4):117-376.

Beard, Y.S. 1979. *The Wappo A Report*. Malki Museum Press. Morongo
Indian Reservation, Banning, California.

Bocek, B.R. 1984. *Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, based
on collections by John P. Harrington.* Economic Botany 38(2):240-255.

CalPhotos 2000. *Pinus sabiniana*.
\<http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?seq_num=16975&one=T\>.
Version: 000229. CalFlora, Inc., Berkeley, California.

Essene, F. 1942. *Culture element distributions*: XXI Round Valley.
Anthropological Records 8(1):1-97.

Goode, R.W. 1992. *Cultural traditions endangered*. Unpublished report.

Goodrich, J., C. Lawson, & V. P. Lawson *Kashaya Pomo plants*. American
Indian Studies Center. University of California, Los Angeles,
California.

Griffin, J.R. 1993. *Pinus*. Pages 117-120 IN: The *Jepson manual:
Higher plants of California*. J.C. Hickman (ed.). University of
California Press, Berkeley, California.

Littlejohn, H.W. 1928. *Nisenan geography*. Unpublished manuscript in
the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants:* *A guide to wildlife food habits*. Dover Publications, New
York, New York.

Peri, D.W., S.M. Patterson, & J.L. Goodrich 1982. *Ethnobotanical
mitigation Warm Springs Dam-Lake Sonoma California.* Unpublished report
prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco District,
San Francisco, California.

USDA, NRCS 2000. *The PLANTS database*. \<http://plants.usda.gov\>.
Version: 000229. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

###### Prepared By and Species Coordinator

*M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center

c/o Department of Environmental Horticulture, University of California,
Davis, California

Edited 05dec00 jsp; 29may03 ahv

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
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