Wood: The
wood is a pale yellow color, becoming reddish on exposure to air. It
is light, soft, close-grained and generally harvested without distinction
from ponderosa pine. The wood is relatively unimportant, but is used for
boxes, railroad ties, poles and mine timbers. It is used locally for firewood.
Wildlife: Good seed crops are produced only every 2 to 4 years. Seeds are eaten by birds and rodents. The low-growing branches often provide the only cover for wildlife at high elevations.
Horticulture:The limber pine forms a handsome specimen tree. It withstands wind and cold and ought to be more widely planted in the Midwest, even though it is slow-growing. It is useful for reforestation, and for protection of valuable watersheds on exposed sites. The variety 'Glauca Pendula' has a wide-spreading, irregular form and blue-green foliage. 'Van de Wolf's Pyramid' has twisted needles and a vigorous, upright habit. The southwestern white pine (P. flexilis var. reflexa), with reflexed cone scales, is native to the southwestern US and New Mexico. Some botanists classify it as a separate species (P. strobiformis).
