The yellow cypress grows very slowly, particularly at high elevations. The number of annual rings on trees 15 to 20 inches in diameter indicate that they are over 200 years old.
Lodgepole pine (fig. 17) is widely distributed from Alaska to Lower California and eastward through the Rockies to Dakota and Colorado. It occurs sparingly in the park up to 5,000 feet above sea level. It adapts itself easily to the different conditions of soil, moisture, and exposure.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Lodgepole pine (_Pinus contorta_), 60 inches in diameter.]
This tree varies greatly in the different regions where it is found. About Mount Rainier it does not often exceed 20 to 40 feet in height and is often a much smaller tree. It produces cones at the age of 5 to 7 years. The foliage is a yellowish green. At high elevations the leaves have a peculiar whorled appearance which gives it a different aspect from that of the other pines. The short, heavily limbed trunk bears no resemblance to the tall and slender shaft of the lodgepole pine of the Rocky Mountains. The root system is shallow and the tree is easily fire killed. The wood of the variety which grows in the park is of no commercial value.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--The feathery foliage of mountain hemlock (_Tsuga mertensiana_), Grand Park, Mount Rainier National Park.
The mountain hemlock (figs. 18, 19, and 20) is found on the Pacific coast from the Sierras of California to the northern part of Alaska where it grows at sea level. On Mount Rainier it occurs at altitudes of from 3,500 to 7,500 feet. It forms dense forests under 4,500 feet, where it is often a fair-sized tree 50 to 90 feet high. With the ascent of the mountain it diminishes in height and the branches become gnarled and twisted. Near timber line the trunk is dwarfed and bent at the base and the crown becomes a flattened mass of branches lying close to the ground (fig. 20).
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Two solitary mountain hemlocks (_Tsuga mertensiana_), Spray Park, Mount Rainier National Park.
The mountain hemlock is abundant on high, rocky ridges, but the best stands are on cool, moist soil at the heads of ravines, on flats, and on gentle slopes with a northern exposure.