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Two of the characteristic trees of the Sierra Nevada mountains of California are lodgepole and Jeffrey pines. Jeffrey pines (Pinus jeffreyi) are large trees closely related to the more widespread ponderosa pine. They grow in fairly dry country, mainly on the east side of the Sierra. One way to distinguish them from ponderosa pines is their unique smell, most commonly described as resembling butterscotch or vanilla. The smaller, shorter-needled lodgepole pines (Pinus contorta) are generally found higher up, in areas that get substantial snowfall, but the species overlap in a broad altitude range. These trees were growing near Olmsted Point in Yosemite National Park. The needles of some are covered with gossamer, the silk threads of ballooning spiders. |
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