A look at Marin’s pine trees

According to botanist John Thomas Howell’s “Marin Flora,” five pine species grow in Marin. Bishop pine, Monterey pine, knobcone pine, Torrey pine and Coulter pine can be distinguished from each other by their needles and cones. Bishop pine is the only pine native to Marin. Howell describes “picturesque groves on the granitic ridge west of Inverness on Point Reyes peninsula.” Bishop pine has two needles — 2 to 6 inches long — in a bunch. One way to remember this number is to think of the two points of a bishop’s hat. The cones — 3 inches — are asymmetrical and stay closed and attached to the branch for years.

Bishop pine, Pinus muricata, is often confused with Monterey pine, Pinus radiata. The easiest way to tell the difference is by the number of needles in a bunch. Bishop pine has two; Monterey pine has three. The cones of Bishop pine may be slightly smaller than those of Monterey pine.

— katie martin, UC Marin Master Gardeners