Pinus sabiniana

Gray Pine. Foothill Pine. This conifer grows fast to 45 ft. in 15 years. It can gradually get to 75' in 200 years. The foliage is gray green, lacy, fairly open and it is sometimes called the see-through pine. Native to dry, western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains and mostly the inner coast ranges. Gray Pine will grow in full or part sun and it is very drought tolerant. Its open structure gives light shade and if the bottom branches are pruned off, you can garden under it with associated/companion plants. The large seed is edible. Indigenous people used the root fibers for baskets. Understory plants that are companions for Pinus sabiniana are Quercus douglasii, Sanicula crassicaulis, Galium californicum ssp. flaccidum, Galium andrewsii, Quercus agrifolia, Quercus lobata, Achillea millefolium, Rhamnus ilicifolia, Asclepias eriocarpa, Eriodictyon tomentosum, Salvia mellifera, Artemisia douglasiana, Toxicodendron diversilobum, Lotus scoparius, Poa scabrella, Lessingia filaginifolia, Cirsium occidentale var. venustum, Keckiella cordifolia, Rhus trilobata, Arctostaphylos glauca and Lonicera subspicata. Also, another good companion plant to grow near gray pine is Ceanothus cuneatus.