Ponderosa pine

Pinus ponderosa · Pinaceae · also Western yellow pine, Bull pine

A tall, straight pine with long needles in bundles of three, prickly cones and, on mature trees, orange-brown bark in big jigsaw plates that many people say smells of vanilla or butterscotch. Young trees are dark-barked and pyramidal, older ones have open, irregular crowns. It is drought tolerant and deep-rooted once established, a good choice for large yards, parks and windbreaks in the dry West; Portland lists it as an approved street tree for wide planting strips.