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Glite Dictionary
bristlecone pine

bristlecone pine

1 8.6
A small pine tree that grows very slowly and lives for thousands of years
  • noun
  • /ˈbrɪsəlˌkoʊn paɪn/
  • US
translation icon : pino de cerdas
  • Geneticist Christopher M. Richards, in collaboration with U.S. Forest Service scientist Anna Schoettle, is trying to assess the diversity of bristlecone pines and to identify, for collection, germplasm that represents what is in the wild.
  • the oldest bristlecone pine
  • an ancient bristlecone pine
  • bristlecone pine trees

Examples

  • The outer wood of the Bristlecone pine, when exposed to winter ice driven by high winds, becomes beautifully sculpted and polished.

    Blog text (33)

  • It's a 55-foot-tall bristlecone pine that's nearly 5,000 years old.

  • And to, to, to think about a tree, an individual bristlecone pine that's older than writing.

  • I experienced the bristlecone pine at White Mountain, Inyo National Forest, CA, 2005.

    Blog text (31)

  • Bristlecone pines could be considered Earth's oldest living inhabitants, since some of them may be 5,000 years old.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Some bristlecone pine trees in the Rocky Mountains are still alive after 4,600 years.

  • California boasts the world's tallest trees, the redwoods, and the oldest, bristlecone pines.

Synonyms

Pinus longaeva
vsbristlecone pine
  • Specialized
9.9

A very old pine tree from western United States mountains that can live for thousands of years

is the general name for small slow-growing long-lived western pines
Pinus aristata
vsbristlecone pine
  • Specialized
9.9

A slow-growing pine from the Rocky Mountains that lives a long time and has short needles in groups of five

is the broader western tree name not limited to the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine
vsbristlecone pine
  • US
8.8

A small slow-growing pine tree from the Rocky Mountains that can live for thousands of years

is the general western pine type not tied to the Rocky Mountains specifically

How Long-Lived

bristlecone pine
  • US
1 8.6
sapling
16 2.7
seedling
20 2.8

Surface Forms

bristlecone pine singular
bristlecone pines plural

Morphology

bristlecone + pine

The head noun 'pine' clearly signals that this is a type of tree, so a learner who knows 'pine' will likely infer it is a kind of pine. However, 'bristlecone' is not a common word and its internal structure (bristle + cone) only partially reveals the specific botanical traits (thorn-tipped cone scales, extreme longevity, slow growth), so the full encyclopedic meaning is not predictable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

Bristlecone pine comes from the tree's small cones with stiff, hair-like points called bristles, and from it being a kind of pine. That's why the name points to the slow-growing, very old pine tree we mean today.