| a pine, Pinus aristata, of the southwestern U.S., bearing short needles crowded into long, thick bundles and cones having scales tipped with a slender, curved spine. |
bris·tle·cone pine  (brĭs'əl-kōn')  n. Either of two small slow-growing pines (Pinus aristata or P. longaeva) found at higher elevations of the western United States, having needles in fascicles of five. Specimens of P. longaeva in the Sierra Nevada are the oldest known living trees, achieving ages well over 4,000 years. |
bristlecone pine
(species Pinus longaeva and P. aristata), small pine tree ranging from about 5 to 16 metres (15 to 50 feet) in height and belonging to the family Pinaceae. The species are native to the Rocky Mountains and other ranges of the southwestern United States, occurring usually at elevations above 1,700 metres (5,500 feet). P. longaeva has the longest life-span of any conifer known. A stand of western bristlecone pine on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada is known to contain several trees over 3,000 years old, and one of them is thought to be about 5,000 years old
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