What is a Torrey Pine?

The Torrey Pine (Pinus torreyana) is the most restricted and rarest pine in North America. It grows in the Torrey Pine woodland or Pacific coniferous forest. This pine is probably the remnant of an ancient coastal forest, which has been reduced during the drying period of the last ten thousand years to the sandy soils of the sandstone bluffs and ravines of Torrey Pines State Reserve and Santa Rosa Island. Extensive root systems and blankets of summer fog aid in the tree's survival and propagation. The trees along the bluff are twisted and gnarled into spectacular shapes by the omnipresent winds, while those, which are sheltered, are more robust and erect.

The vegetation associated with the Torrey Pine woodland is a mixture of plants from the coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities. Further studies need to be undertaken to examine the woodland microclimate and plants normally absent from the previous two plant communities.

Torrey Pines Research is located relatively near the Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego County, CA and as such decided to adopt the Torrey Pines name for the company in recognition of the beauty and tenacious strength of this living species.

Article by http://www.torreypine.org:Torrey Pine Woodland, 2001
Photo © 1997 by Bill Evarts