Limber Pine
A very durable tree, the branches are so limber you can tie one into a knot. This is a 5-needle pine, that is short, has a thick trunk with an irregular crown. On high exposed slopes, the trees show a stunted, twisted form. It seems to grow best on east slopes at around 5000 to 9000 feet. The heartwood of the limber pine is dense, seasons well, and works easily, but does not last. This, combined with inaccessibility, makes the limber pine of little commercial significance. For a sample viewing of limber pine, check out the southern portion of the Elkhorn Mountains near Radersburg to find a representative stand of Limber Pine in the Helena National Forest.

Lodgepole Pine
The bark of lodgepole pine is very thin, so the tree is quite susceptible to fire damage. As compensation, Nature has developed a unique cone. The cone often remains on the tree for years after maturing, its scales tightly closely. They open, only when exposed to heat, and so a forest fire, which destroys the trees of an area, also opens the way for seeding of lodgepole, which then becomes the first tree species to fill in a burned-over area. There are two needles per bundle on a lodgepole and cones and needles are much smaller than other pines. The mountain tree is called "lodgepole" because it was frequently used by Native Americans as the framing structure for their teepees and lodges. These straight "poles" often lasted a family a lifetime. They also provided medicine; pitch was placed on opens sores, and the buds were chewed for sore throats. Lodgepole provides lumber, pulpwood, poles, and posts. Check out the burn site near the Maudlow/Toston Area on the Helena National Forest to see how lodgepole is regenerating.

Ponderosa Pine
A 3-needle pine, the ponderosa has exceptionally long needles and a rich orange bark with round-edged flakes. They look like pieces of a puzzle. The bark is also extremely thick-3 to 4 inches-thus making it fire resistant. But the thick bark makes ponderosas vulnerable to many species of pine beetle. The seeds are an important food source to seed-eaters of the forest. Stashes of seeds left by squirrels contribute to the regeneration of ponderosa pine forests. The ponderosa is the state tree of Montana and is a major commercial timber tree, used for furniture, plywood, fiberboard, and paper. Knotty pine paneling is usually made from ponderosa pine. You can find this tree in many areas of the Helena National Forest.

Quaking Aspen
The bark of the quaking aspen is smooth and white or cream-colored; it often appears broken and marked with black patches and scars. Aspens are members of the poplar family, which are trees known to have existed 75 million years ago. Though many aspen seeds are sterile or weak, the numbers blown from distant aspen stands provide the first trees to appear in burned or cleared land. The new trees grow quickly and produce a large number of leaves, which improve the soil as they fall and decay. Also, because the seeds germinate well on wet ground, the trees grow quickly along stream banks, where they stabilize the soil. Food source for a host of friendly insects, the inner bark, though we may think tastes bitter, is the favorite food of beavers. A good place to view aspens in the Helena National Forest is on the Alice Creek Road near Lincoln.

Choke Cherry
A small tree, more like a shrub, the chokecherry is a source of food for songbirds and bears in the Helena National Forest. Native Americans ate the fruit and pounded it with meat to produce their staple-pemmican. It has been recorded that Sacajawea was captured by the enemy while she was gathering fruit in a chokecherry thicket. The Navajos considered the fruit sacred. Chokecherry is prolific and is found throughout most of the continental U.S. Please view the heritage sites on this website to find out more about Lewis and Clark's journey in the Helena National Forest.

Willows
Willows are most often found along stream banks and form almost impenetrable barriers. Their thickly matted root system prevent soil erosion along stream banks providing improved water quality for the watersheds of the Helena National Forest. Native Americans wove strips of willow bark together for rope-like uses, and used the twigs and branches for baskets. There are many types of willows that can interbreed, producing a combination of characteristics that make it difficult to identify individual species. Willows are almost always found only near water.