Common White Bark Trees In California: 7 Types To Know
If you are looking for information related to that amazing tree with white barks that you encountered on your last trip to California, then this is the right place to be.
I will walk you through 7 of the most commonly found white bark trees in California including native and non-native species. All trees are listed with details like identification, habitat, native range, and similar details for better understanding.
So, let’s get started.
1. White Bark Pine
- Common Name: Whitebark Pine
- Scientific Name: Pinus albicaulis
- Mature Height: 25-50ft
- Flowers: Cones
- Uses: Ornamental
The Whitebark Pine is a short, multi-stemmed tree with multiple trunks that are often fused at the base.
It can grow to a height of 15 meters (50 feet) and a circumference of 60 centimeters when fully mature (24 inches). It features, greyish white to complete white barks depending on the location.
There are large egg or globe-shaped cones that are often erect and purplish brown to tan in color, and it generates bundles of five stiff, dark green needles between 3 and 7 centimeters in length.
Whitebark pines can be seen in the Sierra Nevada, Cascade, and Warner Mountains in California, as well as the higher elevations of the Pacific Northwest and the northern Rocky Mountains.
It can also be found in California’s Klamath Mountains, between 1,800 and 3,600 feet in height (6,000 to 12,000 feet). This plant is unable to survive in shade and is readily destroyed by fire, thus it is found in subalpine coniferous forests and woodlands along the tree line.
More than 90% of its seeds are spread by and stored by birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. White pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, limber pine dwarf mistletoe, and competition from other subalpine tree species are all threats to this tree’s survival.
2. Pacific Silver Fir
- Common Name: Pacific Silver Fir
- Scientific Name: Abies amabilis
- Mature Height: 80-160ft
- Flowers: Cones
- Uses: Lumber, plywood, pulp, Christmas trees
The Pacific Silver Fir is a tall and slender tree that typically grows between 24 to 48 meters in height and 30 cm to 120 cm in diameter. However, the largest among them can reach towering heights of up to 62 meters and diameters of 2.4 meters.
Juvenile trees have crowns that are similar to those of other true firs, but mature trees have a spire-like or pyramidal form. This is one of the longest-living conifers due to its extended longevity (some trees have been clocked at over 400 years).
If you look at the underside of one of its linear, about 25mm long leaves, you’ll see a shimmering silver. The white bark contrasts with the purple-to-green cones that grow 9 to 15 cm long on average.
The Pacific Silver Fir grows naturally in the subalpine coniferous forests of Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska’s coastal and Cascade Mountains.
In California, this unique tree grows solely in the Marble and Siskiyou Mountains, at heights of 1,700 to 2,100 meters.
It takes decades to grow because of understory competition and is tolerant of shade but is highly fire-prone. Yet, it can grow new stems and roots if its branches touch the ground (a process known as layering).
It is usually put to good use as a source of building materials, plywood, pulp, holiday decorations, and fresh greenery.
3. California Buckeye
- Common Name: California Buckeye
- Scientific Name: Aesculus californica
- Mature Height: 12-30ft
- Flowers: Pinkish-white
- Uses: Ornamental
The California buckeye can be a huge shrub or a small tree depending on the conditions it is planted in. It has a small stem and several branches that grow upwards, and its crown can be either flat or rounded.
This plant can potentially outlive its human caretakers by several decades. It has opposite, palmately compound leaves that are deciduous, and each leaflet is between 7.5 and 15 centimeters in length and oval to lance-shaped.
The 15-25 cm tall flowers of the inflorescences create upright, beautiful clusters from May through July. The fruits are leathery capsules that are pear-shaped, hanging, and 4-5 cm in length, and inside each capsule are one or two enormous, glossy brown seeds. It has a smooth, greyish-white bark.
The California Buckeye is a tree that thrives in the moist forests of the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and Tehachapi Mountains’ foothills and valleys.
In altitudes below 1,700 meters, it thrives on hot, dry slopes or along riparian areas (5,500 ft). This deciduous plant drops its leaves in the middle to late summer and bears enormous, hanging pears in September.
The entire tree, including its leaves, bark, and fruit, is poisonous to people, animals, and livestock. Yet, the Native Americans found a way to make use of this plant by preparing the seeds for consumption by mashing and roasting them after the toxins had been leached off.
The California buckeye tree is mostly grown as a decoration because it has pretty flowers and a strikingly symmetrical shape when it’s fully grown. Moreover, it can recover from wounds by sprouting new stems at its base.
4. California Sycamore
- Common Name: California Sycamore
- Scientific Name: Platanus racemosa
- Mature Height: 9-24m
- Flowers: Unisexual, spherical clusters
- Uses: Wildlife nesting and roosting, hiding cover
The majestic California Sycamore is one of the most commonly seen native white bark trees in California. It is a towering, long-lived tree that can grow to an impressive 24 meters (80 feet) tall and 90 centimeters (3 feet) in diameter.
It has an attractive, spherical crown, and its simple, deciduous leaves are palmately lobed, with 3–5 teeth and narrow lobes. These leaves are beautiful to look at since they are pale green on top and have rusty hairs on the underside.
California sycamores produce unisexual blooms in spherical clusters about 6mm in diameter; male clusters have 4 or 5 flowers while female clusters have 2-7 flowers. About 2.5 cm in diameter, the fruits are globular clusters of hairy achenes.
The California Sycamore is native to the lower elevations of California and Baja California, where it prefers to grow in riparian woods. Streams and riparian zones are kept cool by the California sycamore’s dense canopy, and a wide variety of animals, especially birds, benefit from this.
5. Yellow Aster
- Common Name: Yellow-Aster
- Scientific Name: Eastwoodia elegans
- Mature Height: 3ft
- Flowers: Yellow pincushion-like flower heads
- Uses: Ornamental
If you are looking for white bark trees in California with flowers, then Yellow-Aster is a great choice. It is a small tree or shrub that can grow up to a height of 3 feet (1 meter).
The leaves of this plant are simple, alternating, and linear in shape, and they tend to shed during dry seasons.
Pincushion-shaped clusters of yellow flowers are produced by the plant. The Yellow-Aster is an evergreen shrub with white, flaking bark and delicate longitudinal patterns on its stems. Less than 2 mm in length, the plant’s achenes are tiny and hairy.
This shrub is endemic to the western slopes of the southern Sierra Nevada and the central Coast Ranges. It inhabits lowland meadows and open forests below 1,250 m. (4,000 ft).
6. Oregon White Oak
- Common Name: Oregon White Oak
- Scientific Name: Quercus garryana
- Mature Height: 25-90ft
- Flowers: Acorns
- Uses: Wildlife habitat, Native American acorn meal
No other tree can mimic the majesty of Oaks. And, the Oregon White Oak is not an exception. This magnificent white bark tree stands tall at heights of up to 27 meters (90 feet) and diameters of up to 90 centimeters (3 feet).
If planted in an open area, its crown will be rounded and its foliage will cascade to the ground, but if grown in a more competitive area, its trunk will be long and straight and its crown will be narrow.
The leaves, which are 7.5-10 cm in length, are deciduous and have a distinctive elliptical to egg-shaped appearance. They’re broader in the upper third and characterized by 5-9 rounded lobes with deep sinuses.
The bark is papery, flaky, and greyish-white in color. Fruits of this tree are acorns, which are brown, egg-shaped nuts that are typically two to three centimeters in length. The diameter of these 12-25 mm deep bowls is typical.
Oregon white oak trees thrive in woods and conifer forests from southwestern British Columbia to southern California. It grows from near sea level to 1,800 meters in the central and northern Coast Ranges, in the foothills of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada (5,900 feet).
It can tolerate some shade but may struggle in the presence of towering conifers. Even after being burned or clipped, new shoots might appear. Its acorns are important food for many birds and mammals, and both wild animals and farm animals love its leaves. Acorns were so useful to Native Americans that they were often ground into meals and used in cooking.
On the other hand, the Brewer Oak (Quercus garryana var. breweri) is a shrub version of the Oregon White Oak, usually growing up to 4.5 meters (15 feet) in height, and is found in higher elevations than the Oregon White Oak.
7. Blue Gum
- Common Name: Blue Gum
- Scientific Name: Eucalyptus globulus
- Mature Height: 100-180ft
- Flowers: White to creamy stamens
- Uses: Windbreak, medicinal uses
Unlike other white bark trees in California, we’ve discussed so far, the Blue Gum is a nonnative species of tree that often grows very tall and has a single, slender trunk. It has the potential to grow to 55 meters in height and 120 centimeters in circumference.
It has evergreen leaves that are simple, leathery, lance to sickle-shaped, and between 10 and 33 centimeters in length. Flowers on this tree grow singly and are a creamy white color with many beautiful stamens and a single pistil.
The fruits of this tree are 2-2.5 cm in diameter, woody capsules, and its bark is deciduous, peeling away in long strips to reveal inner bark that is bluish-gray, tan, and white.
Even though it is endemic to Tasmania and southeastern Australia, the Blue Gum has been planted all over the world, including in California. It was first brought to California in 1856 and now thrives in the state’s lowlands (below 1,000 feet in elevation).
This plant’s bark, litter, and leaves all have volatile oils that can make wildfires bigger and spread faster. It spreads slowly and tends to areas close to already established forests. The lumber from this tree is notorious for warping and cracking when dried, making it a poor choice for anything other than firewood.
The Blue Gum is not just an ornamental tree, instead, they are employed as a windbreak, screen against noise, or a natural barrier. Its oil is found in a wide variety of pharmaceutical products including antiseptics, ointments, and medications for colds and coughs.
White Bark Trees In California – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions related to common white bark trees in California.
What are the standard white bark trees in California?
The commonly seen white bark trees in California are Whitebark Pine, Pacific Silver Fir, California Buckeye, and Blue Gum. Out of these, Blue Gum is not native to California.
Are there any shrubs with white bark in California?
The most commonly found white bark shrub in California is Yellow Aster.
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Sources
The Regional Gardening team makes sure that the information in our articles is accurate by only using sources that are known to be trustworthy. Some of these sources are peer-reviewed journals from government agencies, well-known universities, and scientific research organizations.
- California Forests, University Of California
- California Native Plant Society
- Native Plants, California Department Of Fish & Wildlife
- California Natural Diversity Database
