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ponderosa pine

American  
[pon-duh-roh-suh, pon-] / ˈpɒn dəˈroʊ sə, ˌpɒn- /

noun

  1. Also called western yellow pine.  a large pine, Pinus ponderosa, of western North America, having yellowish-brown bark: the state tree of Montana.

  2. the light, soft wood of this tree, used for making furniture and in the construction of houses, ships, etc.


Etymology

Origin of ponderosa pine

1875–80, < New Latin Pinus ponderosa (1836) literally, heavy pine; see ponderous

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Yet one magnetic painting is atypical of that first stay in the Taos area: a striking ponderosa pine.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 20, 2026

Without any fire, the tree species mix shifted away from fire-tolerant species like ponderosa pine and Western larch to a greater abundance of less fire- and drought-tolerant species.

From Seattle Times Feb. 2, 2024

The team found that ponderosa pine trees grow at a faster rate at warmer locations.

From Science Daily Dec. 18, 2023

A ponderosa pine and cedar forest was reduced to a landscape of charcoal sticks.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 1, 2022

You may find yourself inspecting a nearby ponderosa pine, perhaps, or an aspen or sweet gum, puzzling out the magic.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate

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