Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, or western yellow-pine,[4] is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to the western United States and Canada. It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America.
It grows in various erect forms from British Columbia southward and eastward through 16 western U.S. states and has been successfully introduced in temperate regions of Europe. It was first documented into modern science in 1826 in eastern Washington near present-day Spokane (of which it is the official city tree). On that occasion, David Douglas misidentified it as Pinus resinosa (red pine). In 1829, Douglas concluded that he had a new pine among his specimens and coined the name Pinus ponderosa for its heavy wood. In 1836, it was formally named and described by Charles Lawson, a Scottish nurseryman. It is the official state tree of Montana.