Pinus patula Jelecote pine

Pendant needles, 6–9 inches long, drape straight downward from the branches, giving this pine a graceful, weeping silhouette. Patula, describing the leaves, means “spreading,” a bit of a head-scratcher. The ruddy, rough bark forms a handsome backdrop for the drooping foliage, which is remarkably fine-textured and usually a cheerful grass green. The needles are in groups of 3 or 4. Cones about 4 inches long cluster in groups and typically curve backward toward the branch, reminiscent of those on P. radiata and P. muricata.

Stanford’s sole remaining specimen stands on the left at 840 Lathrop Drive; another once grew at 883. In Palo Alto, three are in the parking lot divider on the north side of the Main Library on Newell Road, two are street trees at 3550 Orinda Street. Two at 224 Greenmeadow Way, on the right side along the fence, were removed around 2017. The area’s champion specimen is a behemoth on the north corner of Echo Lane and Alpine Road in Portola Valley. There, the fallen, lax needles gather in the scaly recesses of the reddish bark, evoking aerial roots drooping along the trunk.

· A simple key to campus pines

Name derivation: Pinus – Latin for pine; patula – see text above.