Easily confused with : several other subspecies of Pinus contorta, namely Shore Pine (Pinus contorta ssp. contorta) and Sierra Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta ssp. murrayana)

Smalls very aromatic with a mixture of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes when the leaves are crushed. The terpenes present in the tree resin belong to three groups of terpenes: those with the camphane or pinene skeletons, those with mono-cyclic or acyclic frames, and those that are sesquiterpenes.

Identified in the resin are: Limonene (2.4%), Sabinene (2.1%), α-phellandrene (0.7%) and the aliphatic hydrocarbon heptane. Further terpenes are produced by the tree in response to attack by insects or pathogens as a defence mechanism. Limonene is a cyclic monoterpene which has a strong smell of lemons and is indeed contained within lemon peel along with a few other monoterpenes. Limonene is chiral, having two mirror image forms, lemons containing the (+)-limonene (D-limonene) enantiomer which is dextro-rotatory, rotating the plane of polarised light. α-Pellandrene is a double-bond isomer of β-phellandrene and is also found in Eucalyptus phellandra (which is now called Eucalyptus radiata). It has a peppery-minty smell slightly reminiscent of citrus fruit.

JASMONATE PLANT HORMONES (AUXINS) Jasmonic Acid, and its metabolites, is a plant hormone and is derived from Linolenic Acid. It plays roles in regulating plant development and growth, including growth inhibition, senescence, tendril coiling (but obviously not in Lodgepole Pines), seed germination, flower development, flower form, flowering time, flower opening, the number of open flowers, and leaf fall. It also has a hand in tuber formation of potatoes, yams and onions. It also plays a role in the wounding response and systemic acquired resistance. It acts as a defence chemical against insects, interfering with their digestive processes. Jasmonic Acid can be converted into the ester Methyl Jasmonate within the plant, which plays similar roles in plant defence as Jasmonic Acid. Plants produce both chemicals in response to stress or damage. Methyl Jasmonate also signals to remoter parts of the plant (via propagation through the air) forearming them against similar damage or attack, so that they are prepared. Methyl Jasmonate can also induce ethylene formation. Ethylene, H2C=CH2, is a gas and plant hormone that enhances the ripening of nearby fruits. See Fungal Attack and Resistance.

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