Admiring a lone foxtail pine found on the south side of Cory Peak near Callahan, California.  Foxtail pine are a near-threatened species found only in California & are related to Great Basin bristlecone pines.  There is a northern population found in isolated pockets in the Klamath Mountains & a southern population in the southern Sierra Nevada near Mount Whitney, a separation of over 400 miles.  The ones found here in the Klamath Mountains grow from 6,000-9,000 feet (this one is at about 7,300 feet) on south facing slopes.  Needles are in bundles of 4-5 & the cones are 2.5-4.5 inches long, forming on the end of the limbs & having a nice lightweight symmetry when dry.  The trees have a height of 30-70 feet & don't grow a standard shape, often growing at obtuse angles.  This particularly tree is surrounded by open forest of stunted jeffrey pine, finding a foothold in the peridotite rich landscape, to which most conifers of the region have a hard time surviving in.