Stop 6: Cherry Canyon Tour

Torrey Pines

Tim Hauf, timhaufphotography.com

A Rare Pine
As you continue along the ridge, look out toward the east and you will see a grove of the rarest native pine in the United States and, possibly, the rarest pine in the world-the Torrey pine. It only grows naturally in two places in the entire world. One is here on Santa Rosa Island and the other is near San Diego.

Thousands of years of isolation have made this island version of the pine distinct. It is genetically and physically different enough from the mainland trees that it is considered a separate subspecies and given its own common name-the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine.

As the climate has changed, the pines most likely survived here because of the cool, moist air from the persistent island fog and because of the limited competition from other plants-due to the island's isolation, a smaller number of plant species exist on the island as compared to the mainland.

The Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine has a very limited range on the island, occurring only in two locations. Along with its limited individual genetic variability, this makes the Torrey pine very vulnerable to extinction.

To ensure the survival of this unique pine, the park closely monitors its health. So far, all studies have indicated that the pines are doing very well. In 1888, when the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine was first described, the grove was highly impacted by sheep grazing, and the population was estimated to be about 100 trees. Today that number has grown to over 4,000 trees along with many young trees. Some of the oldest trees are in the heart of the grove and have been dated to approximately 250 years old.

Please refer to the Torrey Pines for more information on the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine.