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



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Prince's pine is a native evergreen low shrub or perennial rhizomatous
herb.  The woody stems are usually 4 to 12 inches (10-30 cm) tall and
the leathery, whorled leaves are sharply serrate.  The fertile stems are
generally erect and may have 2 to 15 flowers.  Fruits are depressed,
globose capsules which often persist through the winter
[25,39,57,70,72,82].

Across its range, prince's pines show wide variation in size; in leaf
blade length, number of teeth, and prominence of lower surface venation;
in sepal shape; and in stigma and capsule size [31].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Chamaephyte
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Prince's pine reproduces both sexually and vegetatively.  Flowers have
been observed being pollinated by bumblebees and staphylinid beetles
[11]. Prince's pine develops numerous, minute seeds [25,57,72].  Their
dispersal mechanism has not been documented.  A New Brunswick study of
boreal herb reproductive biology found that prince's pine flowered for
an average of 30 days.  Fruit set was low for flowers opening at the
beginning of the flowering period.  Eighty-three percent of buds opened
and 76.5 percent survived the flowering period.  Forty-seven percent of
flower buds eventually developed fruit, and 45.6 percent actually
matured fruit [36].

Prince's pine produces long rhizomes that normally grow at a fast rate.
Genets are generally long-lived [83].  Reports differ concerning the
depth of prince's pine rhizomes.  In a study of the Douglas-fir forest
zone in southern interior British Columbia, McLean [52] listed prince's
pine with species that have rhizomes growing from 2 to 5 inches (5-13
cm) below the mineral soil surface.  Most of those species are able to
regenerate from those depths, but he stated that only prince's pine
rhizomes near the soil surface are able to produce new shoots.  Stickney
[78] reported that in the northern Rocky Mountains, prince's pine
rhizomes are confined to the duff near or above the mineral soil
surface.


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Prince's pine is found in a wide variety of soils and soil moisture
regimes.  It most commonly occurs in mixed woods and coniferous forests
[17,24,35,38,44] on dry, well-drained, rocky or sandy soils
[7,18,24,26].  In coastal regions of British Columbia, prince's pine is
an indicator of dry to very dry, nutrient-poor soils in montane boreal,
temperate, and cool mesothermal climates.  Its occurrence decreases with
increasing elevation and precipitation, and increases with
continentality [47].  In Ontario, prince's pine most often occurs on
sandy or rocky soil on well-drained sites, on gravel terraces, and in
jack pine (Pinus banksiana) barrens [70].  In red pine (P.
resinosa)-white pine (P. strobus) forests of Voyageurs National Park,
Minnesota, prince's pine is found on dry, shallow, well-drained,
nutrient poor to medium loamy sand to sandy loam soils [51].  In the
nearby Boundary Waters Canoe area, prince's pine is found on shallow,
sandy soils to deep soils with a high clay content [59].

Prince's pine also occurs in moist or imperfectly-drained situations
throughout its range.  It is found on moist sites in oak ecosystems of
Michigan [2], on moist sites in the Black Hills of South Dakota [72],
and in lodgepole pine (P. contorta) forests in Alberta [9].  In the
Adirondack Mountains of New York, prince's pine occurs on well- to
imperfectly-drained sites, most often under pines (Pinus spp.) on
outwash soils, but also on tills in mixed woods [50].

Prince's pine occurs in the following elevational ranges:

                         feet              meters
               _________________________________________________
               UT     6,930-9,570     2,100-2,900 [82]
               AZ     6,000-9,570     1,800-2,900 [31]
               CA     1,000-9,570       300-2,900 [38,57]
               CO     8,000-11,500    2,400-3,500 [35]


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Prince's pine has been classified as moderately shade tolerant to
tolerant throughout its range [26,29,42,47,50,60].  Its highest
frequency or cover is probably reached at intermediate light levels,
such as in relatively open conifer stands in the Siskiyou Mountains of
Oregon [15].

In the western Cascades, prince's pine is significantly more frequent
(p<.05) under a Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) canopy than under a
western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) canopy (71% vs. 4% frequency).
Average cover under western hemlock is less than 1.0 percent compared to
12.5 percent under Douglas-fir.  The difference may be due to less
direct radiation in the western hemlock stands [73].

Prince's pine is present throughout succession and occurs in stands of
all ages [28,29,59,64,71].  It is found in relatively young stands
[1,20,45], but is probably more frequent in mid-successional stages and
mature forests [3,5,21,29].  Prince's pine is a common understory
component in many old-growth and climax forests of the Pacific Northwest
[20,27,30,42].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Prince's pine flowers from June to August throughout its range
[17,24,25,31,57].

Related categories for Species: Chimaphila umbellata | Prince's Pine