Red Lake near Big Pine, CA.  A nearly pure stand of Foxtail Pines can be seen below the summit of Split Mountain.  Note the near absence of understory in this stand.

Foxtail Pine is a subalpine conifer endemic to California (Critchfield & Little 1966).  Its geographic range is disjunct as it is found growing naturally in the southern Sierra Nevada and the Klamath Mountains of northern California.  It isn't found growing anywhere in between despite an abundance of superficially suitable habitat.  The two populations are separated by approximately 500 km (300 miles).

The tree is abundant in the frequently visited subalpine zone of the southern Sierra Nevada where Foxtail pines share the subalpine habitat with Sierra Lodgepole Pine.  Foxtails are usually found on dry, well-drained slopes while Lodgepoles are most commonly found on moist, poorly-drained sites.

Young Foxtail pines invariably have conical canopies with a nearly circular cross-section but adults nearly always have conical canopies with an elliptical cross-section.  Adult canopies are highly elliptical and the major axis of the canopy ellipse is closely parallel to the local meridian.