Pinus driftwoodensis

Pinus driftwoodensis is an extinct species of conifer in the pine family[1] solely known from early Eocene[2] sediments exposed in south central British Columbia.

[1] P. driftwoodensis was the eighth pine species to be described from a permineralized ovulate cone and the second from the Okanagan highlands (after Pinus arnoldii).

[1] The ovulate cone of Pinus driftwoodensis is rounded with a pointed tip with an overall length of 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 inches) by 2.7 cm (1.1 in) wide and was missing the base before preservation occurred.

P. arnoldi has a pith composed of sclerenchymatous cells, found in the modern Pinus subsections Contortae, Oocarpae, and Sylvestres.

P. driftwoodensis, in contrast, has a parenchymatous pith, seen in the modern Pinus subsections Australes, Ponderosae, and Sabinianae.