Saturday, December 02, 2006

Amazing Coulter Pinecone !!!!!!!!!!


I am holding the (Pinus coulter)...or The COULTER PINECONE or BIG-CONE PINE...The Coulter Pine is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California (United States) and northern Baja California (Mexico). Isolated groves are found as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area. This erect, medium-sized pine prefers south-facing slopes between 200-2300 elevation, and tolerates dry rocky soil. The tree most often appears in mixed forests. The species is named after Thomas Coulter, an Irish botanist and physician.
The outstanding characteristic of this tree is the large, spiny cones which are 8-12 inches long and can weigh up to 5 pounds. Coulter Pines produce the LARGEST CONES OF ANY PINE SPECIES-people are actually advised to wear hardhats when working in Coulter Pine groves. The wood is weak and soft, so that the species is little used other than for firewood. It is also occasionally planted as an ornamental tree in parks and large gardens.
Andy works for the Forest Service....and brought this Coulter Pinecone home for me last night. I love little things like this...better than any "high-dollar" present any day! You can get an idea of how huge this cone is by the picture.

10 Comments:

Blogger skinnylittleblonde said...

Oh My Gosh...that is by far the biggest pine cone I have ever seen. It also looks like it is missing those prickly barbs that our pine cones have out here. Beautiful...Mother Nature is truly amazing.

9:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Holy cow -- that's beautiful!! Love the color!! And do you have your Christmas nightie on there behind that pinecone?? LOL!!!

10:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What an amazing thing..! It's beautiful!!
Will you decorate it Vicci?
I have seen some of the larger pine cones packed with peanut butter and seeds, or suet and hung out for the birds..but this is begging for YOUR artistic magical touch !.
These are the kinds of gifts I like too..one size fits all, and they don't need to be dusted..LOL

12:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Vicci~
This is one LARGE cone. Unreal...and I was thinking, is the pinecone really BIG or did you drink the bottle labelled "Drink Me?" and shrink down a size or two?
Makes me wonder....?
LOL
I love it and I agree with Mum, decorate it!
xo

4:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the color of that pine cone! And talk about huge!! I've never seen a pine cone that big. I'm with you about the "high-dollar" gifts.

6:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yikes! This is really huge! I'd hate to have that hit me on the head! I can see the reason for wearing the hardhat! Seeing that pine cone...I'm trying to picture the size of the squirrels!!! Whoa Nellie!

;-)

By the way...you've been tagged!

11:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! Impressive. And what a gem of a gift.

12:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Big Pine Cone? Well it's aptly named at least! I don't think I've seen anything remotely like that. My little North Carolina pine cones are feeling pretty measley right about now. As unusual as it is, it seems a shame to use them in a fire, but at the same time, I'm trying to imagine what one would look like, all glowing and aflame!

Thanks for an incredible photograph!

11:29 AM  
Blogger Kim Carney said...

wow, it is a sculpture!

3:13 PM  
Blogger Deb said...

Holy smokes that is one gigantic cone!!!! What are your plans for it?

6:09 PM  

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