Ponderous

Ponderosa pine

also known a Pinus ponderosa
these trees
are native to the western United States and Canada
there have also been successes in introducing the tree to certain regions of Europe
in their native range
ponderosa pines usually coexist with Douglas firs
or they live in pure ponderosa stands
those pure stands are mostly found in Washington, Idaho, and the Black Hills of South Dakota

in early stages of development
after the ponderosa saplings have grown past grass height
they begin to develop thick bark and deep root systems
and as they age
they grow new needles
and drop the old
and grow new
and drop the old
and eventually, this process leads to the development of a thick bed of needles on the forest floor
it is common for forest fires to sweep through ponderosa stands
and those fires are fueled by the dry fallen needles
lucky for the pines
that they are adapted to survive forest fires
as the trees age, they drop their lower limbs
decreasing the possibility that fire will climb all the way to the tops of their canopies
their thick bark also peels off in large, puzzle-like pieces when they are heated to a high enough temperature
this keeps the fire off of the tree and keeps the tree from experiencing damagingly high levels of heat
though some of their needles may be lost in the blaze
those needles that surround young buds that are like a protective shield
so even if the needles get burnt off, the buds are still there and can grow new needles after the fire
ponderosa pines tend to have deep, extensive root systems too
so even if some of the surface roots are burnt away
the tree will still be able to take up water and nutrients after the fire

Ponderosa pines have a whole array of adaptations that allow them to survive in temperatures as high as 1000 degrees Celsius. Yes, forest fires do get that hot. Phenomena like forest fires seem like they would be devastating for any organism, but some have developed ways to survive. If you were to take a cross section of the trunk of an old ponderosa pine, you would see curved black lines, forest fire battle scars. Information from these tree rings can be used to determine when and where forest fires occurred, allowing us to collect fire pattern data from fires that occurred hundreds of years ago in places entirely uninhabited by humans. These trees are not only impressive products of evolution, but they are also scientific informants.

Source

Fitzgerald, Stephen Arthur. Fire ecology of ponderosa pine and the rebuilding of fire-resilient ponderosa pine ecoystems. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, 2005.