Ecologically, the White Mountains are like the other ranges in the
Basin and Range Province; they are dry, but the upper slopes from hold open
subalpine forests of
Great Basin bristlecone pine on permeable
dolomite and certain
granite substrates and
limber pine on less permeable rocky substrates. Middle slopes from have somewhat denser stands of
piñon pine and
Utah juniper. These upper and lower conifer zones are often separated by a zone of
mountain mahogany brush. Various subspecies of
sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) extend from surrounding valleys to the lower
alpine zone. , White Mountains, California. A
bristlecone pine, named
Methuselah, located within the mountain range is the oldest known, verified living tree in the world, at years old. Pine nuts from piñon pine stands were harvested as a winter staple food by
Paiute Indians whose descendants still live in adjacent valleys. The White Mountains also have small remnant groves of
lodgepole pine,
Jeffrey pine,
ponderosa pine,
Sierra juniper and
aspen including an unusual dwarf variety. These species are common in the nearby and wetter Sierra Nevada range west of the Owens Valley and must have been more widespread in the White Mountains until
Holocene droughts extirpated them in most of this drier range. A number of plant species are
endemic to the White Mountains, including the White Mountains horkelia,
Horkelia hispidula. Fauna include two herds of
bighorn sheep,
mule deer,
marmots and
feral horses. Permanent streams have no native fish, but there are naturalized populations of trout including rare
Paiute cutthroat trout which is protected from angling. Birds include
Clark's nutcracker and other
Corvidae which eat and cache pine nuts. ==History==