Lodgepole pine
Pinus contorta
Also called Pine
- Cree
- oskâhtakᐅᐢᑳᐦᑕᐠ
Know another name for this plant, or a different spelling? Tell us.
The straight slender pine of the foothills, and the tree that gave the lodgepole its name. Needles for tea, inner bark for food, pitch for wounds.
Commonly shared knowledge. Learn it, gather it, and follow the protocol.
Take care
- Do not drink pine needle tea if you are pregnant or nursing. The Montana guide is explicit about this.
- Know yew on sight before gathering any conifer needles.
What it is confused with
Easily confusedLimber pine Pinus flexilis
Limber pine carries needles in bundles of five and its young branches bend right around without snapping.
How to know it
- Needles
- In bundles of TWO, twisted, about two to three inches long. Counting the needles in a bundle is how you name a pine.
- Trunk
- Very straight and slender, often growing in dense even-aged stands after a fire.
- Cones
- Small, egg-shaped, prickly, and often held closed on the tree for years until a fire opens them.
- Bark
- Thin, orange-brown to grey, flaking in small scales.
The country it grows in
- Mountain forest
- Foothills and shrubland
Landscape types only. We do not publish where a patch is, and we are not going to.
When it is ready
- Needles and cones April to JuneNew growth in spring is mildest.
- Bark May to JuneInner bark peels most easily when the sap is running.
- Sap and pitch January to December
Right now it is July. Something on this plant is in season.
What it is used for
- Breathing and colds
- Skin and wounds
- Tools and materials
Pine needle tea is a documented remedy for colds and coughs across the plains and the mountains.
Straight poles for lodges and travois, which is where the name comes from.
How it is prepared
- Tea
Pour boiling water over the needles, cover, and steep a few minutes until the water turns pale green.
Not taken in pregnancy or while nursing.
Protocol
Ask the plant first, and offer something before you take anything. Tobacco is what is most often offered here. Say who you are, and say what the medicine is for.
Harvest the mature plants and leave the small ones to grow. Never take the first plant you find, and never take all of them.
Take only what you will actually use. Medicine picked and then left to rot in a bag was taken for nothing.
Leave the ground as you found it. Put back any dirt you dug up, and return any plant material you do not use to the earth.
Do not gather beside roads, highways or trails, where the plants take up whatever has been sprayed or spilled there.
If you are not certain what a plant is, do not pick it and do not put it in your mouth. Ask someone. Being wrong in the field is how people get hurt.