BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Chimaphila menziesii | Little Prince's Pine 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Little prince's pine is a native, evergreen, low rhizomatous shrub or
perennial forb.  The woody stems are usually 2 to 6 inches (5-15 cm)
tall and the leathery, whorled leaves are sharply serrate.  The plant
has one to three flowers.  Fruits are depressed, globose capsules that
often persist through the winter [17,22,24,40].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Little prince's pine reproduces both sexually and vegetatively.  It
develops numerous, minute seeds [24].  Their dispersal mechanism has not
been documented.  

Little prince's pine rhizomes have not been described in the literature.
They are probably, however, like those of prince's pine, confined to the
duff near or above the mineral soil surface [36].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Little prince's pine is found in montane to subalpine coniferous forests
[16,17,20,22,26].  In coastal regions of British Columbia little
prince's pine is an indicator of moderately dry to moist soils within
maritime to submaritime, cool mesothermal climates [19].  On peaks of
the Santa Lucia and Diablo ranges of California, little prince's pine is
confined to steep, rocky slopes above 4,000 feet (1,200 m) [11].  On the
Mount Hood and Willamette National Forests, it occurs on moist to wet,
imperfectly to well-drained sites at elevations from 2,700 to 6,100 feet
(800-1,850 m).  Soils range from deep sandy, silty, or clay loams
developed from volcanic tephra to shallow, stony loams developed from
colluvium or glacial till [15].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Little prince's pine is present in all stages of succession [4,5,18,30].
It is shade tolerant [10,19] and is an indicator of low light levels in
some plant associations of the southern Oregon Cascade Mountain Province
[2].  It occurs in the late stages of postfire succession in white fir
(Abies concolor) stands of the northern Sierra Nevada, probably in
response to low light levels [4].  In mixed conifer stands in the
Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon, little prince's pine develops
highest cover at intermediate light levels [6].



SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Little prince's pine flowers from June to August in California [24].

Related categories for Species: Chimaphila menziesii | Little Prince's Pine