Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)

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The Lodge Pole Pine Christmas tree is a native to the Rocky Mountains in the western in the western United States.

However, the Lodgepole found greater popularity in the UK as a Christmas tree. 

Lodgepole pine is a species that is native to western North America, as far north as the Yukon and south to Baja California. It ranges east to the Black Hills of South Dakota and west all the way to the Pacific Ocean .It was introduced to the UK in 1855 and growers like its resistance to pests and its ability to grow well on poor wet soils.

Mature trees grow to 30 metres.

Typically available from 4ft to 12ft - this a low needle drop tree.

It forms clean, gradually tapering shafts which were used by Native Americans to make their lodges, hence the name "lodgepole pine."  The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest and of California also used different parts of the plant internally and externally as a traditional medicine for various ailments.The gum of shore pine was used medicinally as well as for chewing.  Native Americans consumed the inner bark of lodgepole pine to prevent starvation for themselves and their horses

See the photo at right.