Ponderosa pine trees growing on a slope near Mount Rushmore.

Ponderosa pines make up about 70% of the trees in the Black Hills. On a warm summer day, head out on the Nature Trail and take a deep breath. Do you smell that sweet fragrance of butterscotch or vanilla? You are smelling the ponderosa pine sap heating up all around you in the summer sun. Ponderosa have a variety of traditional uses including the making of blue dye from roots, basket weaving with needles, and using inner bark for food in the spring. Both in the past and today, ponderosa pine is used in construction and woodworking.

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