Lodgepole pine

File:49 Lodgepole Pine.jpg

Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

Description

A tall, narrow pine tree (Pinus contorta) native to the western parts of North America. The lodgepole pine has a stiff, straight-grain wood. It is used for lumber, log cabins and telephone poles. Lodgepole pines are also used for making kraft paper, paperboard and book paper.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Pinus contorta; shore pine (Pinus contorta subsp. contorta); lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta subsp. latifolia); tamarack pine (Pinus contorta subsp. murrayana); jack pine; Küstenkiefer (Deut.); Drehkiefer (Deut.); Sosna wydmowa (Pol.);

Lodgepole Pine Pinus contorta

Other Properties

Grows to 30-40 m, usually tall but may be bent and twisted along the coast. Leaves=needle-like and paired (3-7 cm) Woody cones: often tightly closed; scales have spines at tip, may remain closed for years.

Paper fiber type: Softwood, hard pine. Using transmitted light microscopy, fibers are identified by the presence of variable-sized pinoid pits in irregular groups of 2-4 across. Compression wood is common. Dentate ray tracheids are present. Appearance with Graff "C" stain: varies with pulping and bleaching . Average dimensions of fibers: length 3.1mm, width 35-45μm. Common pulping method: kraft and sulfite.

Hazards and Safety

Considered an invasive species in New Zealand.

Additional Images

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  Distribution chart of lodgepole pines

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  Tamarack pine Pinus contorta Murrayana

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  Lodgepole pine paper pulp stained with Graff "C" stain

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  Lodgepole pine paper pulp stained with Graff "C" stain

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  Lodgepole pine paper pulp stained with Graff "C" stain

Sources Checked for Data in Record

• Dictionary of Building Preservation, Ward Bucher, ed., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1996

• Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, at http://www.wikipedia.com Comment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lodgepole_pine (Accessed Jan. 25, 2006)

• Marja-Sisko Ilvessalo-Pfäffli. Fiber Atlas: Identification of Papermaking Fibers (Springer Series in Wood Science). Springer, 1995.

• Walter Rantanen. "Fiber ID Course." Integrated Paper Services. June 2013. Lecture.