Pine
{{Taxobox
color = lightgreen | name = Pines | image = Pinus pinaster.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = Maritime Pine (Pinus pinaster) | regnum = Plantae | divisio = Pinophyta | classis = Pinopsida | ordo = Pinales | familia = Pinaceae | genus = Pinus | genus_authority = L. | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = About 115.
Pines are coniferous trees of the genus Pinus, in the family Pinaceae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authors accept anything from 105 to 125 species.Pines are native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, they range from the Arctic south to Nicaragua and Hispaniola, with the highest diversity in Mexico and California. In Eurasia, they range from Portugal and Scotland east to the Russian Far East, Japan, and the Philippines, and south to northernmost Africa, the Himalaya and Southeast Asia, with one species (Sumatran Pine) just crossing the Equator in Sumatra. Pines are also extensively planted in many parts of the Southern Hemisphere.Pines are evergreen and resinous. The bark of most pines is thick and scaly, but some species have thin, flaking bark. The branches are produced in regular "pseudowhorls", actually a very tight spiral but appearing like a ring of branches arising from the same point. Many pines are uninodal, producing just one such whorl of branches each year, from buds at the tip of the year's new shoot, but others are multinodal, producing two or more whorls of branches per year. The spiral growth of branches, needles and cone scales are arranged in Fibonacci number ratios. The new spring shoots are sometimes called "candles"; they are light-colored and point upward at first, then later darken and spread outward. These "candles" offer foresters a means to evaluate fertility of the soil and vigour of the trees. | Juvenile (left) and adult foliage of Stone Pine (Pinus pinea); note dark brown scale leaves as well as needles on adult shoot |
FoliagePines have four types of leaves. Seedlings begin with # a whorl of 4-20 seed leaves (cotyledons), followed immediately by #juvenile leaves on young plants, 2-6 cm long, single, green or often blue-green, and arranged spirally on the shoot. These are replaced after six months to five years by #scale leaves, similar to bud scales, small, brown and non-photosynthetic, and arranged like the juvenile leaves; and #the adult leaves or needles, green (photosynthetic), bundled in clusters (fascicles) of (1-) 2-5 (-6) needles together, each fascicle produced from a small bud on a dwarf shoot in the axil of a scale leaf. These bud scales often remain on the fascicle as a basal sheath. The needles persist for 1.5-40 years, depending on species. If a shoot is damaged (e.g. eaten by an animal), the needle fascicles just below the damage will generate a bud which can then replace the lost growth.Cones Pines are mostly monoecious, having the male and female cones on the same tree, though a few species are sub-dioecious with individuals predominantly, but not wholly, single-sex. The male cones are small, typically 1-5 cm long, and only present for a short period (usually in spring, though autumn in a few pines), falling as soon as they have shed their pollen. The female cones take 1.5-3 years (depending on species) to mature after pollination, with actual fertilization delayed one year. At maturity the cones are 3-60 cm long. Each cone has numerous spirally arranged scales, with two seeds on each fertile scale; the scales at the base and tip of the cone are small and sterile, without seeds. The seeds are mostly small and winged, and are anemophilous (wind-dispersed), but some are larger and have only a vestigial wing, and are bird-dispersed (see below). At maturity, the cones usually open to release the seeds, but in some of the bird-dispersed species (e.g. Whitebark Pine), the seeds are only released by the bird breaking the cones open. In others, the fire climax pines (e.g. Monterey Pine, Pond Pine), the seeds are stored in closed ("serotinous") cones for many years until a forest fire kills the parent tree; the cones are also opened by the heat and the stored seeds are then released in huge numbers to re-populate the burnt ground.Pines grow well in acid soils, some also on calcareous soils; most require good soil drainage, preferring sandy soils, but a few, e.g. Lodgepole Pine, will tolerate poorly drained wet soils. A few are able to sprout after forest fires, e.g. Canary Island Pine. Some species of pines, e.g. Bishop Pine, need fire to regenerate and their populations slowly decline under fire suppression regimes. Several species are adapted to extreme conditions imposed by elevation and latitude; see e.g. Siberian Dwarf Pine, Mountain Pine, Whitebark Pine and the bristlecone pines. The pinyon pines and a number of others, notably Turkish Pine, are particularly well adapted to growth in hot, dry semi-desert climates.
The seeds are commonly eaten by birds and squirrels. Some birds, notably the Spotted Nutcracker, Clark's Nutcracker and Pinyon Jay, are of importance in distributing pine seeds to new areas where they can grow. Pine needles are sometimes eaten by some Lepidoptera species (see list of Lepidoptera which feed on Pines) and also the Symphytan species Pine Sawfly. | Scots Pine branch with young shoots, Estonia. |
Pines are divided into three subgenera, based on cone, seed and leaf characters:
* Subgenus Strobus (white or soft pines). Cone scale without a sealing band. Umbo terminal. Seedwings adnate. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
* Subgenus Ducampopinus (pinyon, lacebark and bristlecone pines). Cone scale without a sealing band. Umbo dorsal. Seedwings articulate. One fibrovascular bundle per leaf.
* Subgenus Pinus (yellow or hard pines). Cone scale with a sealing band. Umbo dorsal. Seedwings articulate. Two fibrovascular bundles per leaf.
For more details, see Pinus classification (under construction).Old World | Young spring growth ("candles") on a Loblolly Pine |
| | | Monterey Pine cone on forest floor |
| | | Monterey Pine plantation, Australia |
| | | Mature Pinus pinea (Stone Pine)- note umbrella-shaped canopy |
| | Pollen cones of Pinus pinea (Stone Pine) |
| | Whitebark Pine in the Sierra Nevada |
| | Hartweg's Pine forest in Mexico |
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Europe and Mediterranean region (some extend into Asia):
Pinus brutia - Turkish Pine
Pinus canariensis - Canary Island Pine
Pinus cembra - Swiss Pine
Pinus halepensis - Aleppo Pine
Pinus heldreichii - Bosnian Pine
Pinus mugo - Mountain Pine
Pinus nigra - European Black Pine or Austrian Pine
Pinus peuce - Macedonian Pine
Pinus pinaster - Maritime Pine
Pinus pinea - Stone Pine
Pinus sylvestris - Scots Pine
;Asia:
Pinus amamiana - Yakushima White Pine
Pinus armandii - Chinese White Pine
Pinus bhutanica - Bhutan White Pine
Pinus bungeana - Lacebark Pine
Pinus dalatensis - Vietnamese White Pine
Pinus densata - Sikang Pine
Pinus densiflora - Japanese Red Pine
Pinus eremitana - North Vietnam White Pine
Pinus fenzeliana - Hainan White Pine
Pinus fragilissima - Wulu Pine
Pinus gerardiana - Chilgoza Pine
Pinus henryi - Henry's Pine
Pinus hwangshanensis - Huangshan Pine
Pinus kesiya - Khasi Pine
Pinus koraiensis - Korean Pine
Pinus krempfii - Krempf's Pine
Pinus latteri - Tenasserim Pine
Pinus luchuensis - Luchu Pine
Pinus massoniana - Masson's Pine
Pinus merkusii - Sumatran Pine
Pinus morrisonicola - Taiwan White Pine
Pinus orthophylla - Wuzhi Shan White Pine
Pinus parviflora - Japanese White Pine
Pinus pumila - Siberian Dwarf Pine
Pinus roxburghii - Chir Pine
Pinus sibirica - Siberian Pine
Pinus squamata - Qiaojia Pine
Pinus tabuliformis - Chinese Red Pine
Pinus taiwanensis - Taiwan Red Pine
Pinus thunbergii - Japanese Black Pine
Pinus uyematsui - Uyematsu White Pine
Pinus wallichiana - Blue Pine
Pinus wangii (syn. P. kwangtungensis) - Guangdong White Pine
Pinus yunnanensis - Yunnan PineNew World;Canada and USA, except for areas close to the Mexican border:
Pinus albicaulis - Whitebark Pine
Pinus aristata - Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine
Pinus attenuata - Knobcone Pine
Pinus balfouriana - Foxtail Pine
Pinus banksiana - Jack Pine
Pinus clausa - Sand Pine
Pinus contorta - Lodgepole Pine
Pinus coulteri - Coulter Pine
Pinus echinata - Shortleaf Pine
Pinus edulis - Colorado Pinyon
Pinus elliottii - Slash Pine
Pinus flexilis - Limber Pine
Pinus glabra - Spruce Pine
Pinus jeffreyi - Jeffrey Pine
Pinus lambertiana - Sugar Pine
Pinus longaeva - Great Basin Bristlecone Pine
Pinus monophylla - Single-leaf Pinyon
Pinus monticola - Western White Pine
Pinus muricata - Bishop Pine
Pinus palustris - Longleaf Pine
Pinus ponderosa (syn. P. washoensis) - Ponderosa Pine
Pinus pungens - Table Mountain Pine
Pinus radiata - Monterey Pine or Radiata Pine
Pinus reflexa - Southwestern White Pine
Pinus remota - Texas Pinyon or Papershell Pinyon
Pinus resinosa - Red Pine
Pinus rigida - Pitch Pine
Pinus sabineana - Gray Pine, Foothill Pine or Digger Pine
Pinus serotina - Pond Pine
Pinus strobus - Eastern White Pine
Pinus taeda - Loblolly Pine
Pinus torreyana - Torrey Pine
Pinus virginiana - Virginia Pine
;Southern Arizona and New Mexico, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean:
Pinus apulcensis - Apulco Pine
Pinus arizonica - Arizona Pine
Pinus ayacahuite - Mexican White Pine
Pinus caribaea - Caribbean Pine
Pinus cembroides - Mexican Pinyon
Pinus chiapensis - Chiapas White Pine
Pinus cooperi - Cooper's Pine
Pinus cubensis - Cuban Pine
Pinus culminicola - Potosi Pinyon
Pinus devoniana (syn. P. michoacana) - Michoacan Pine
Pinus durangensis - Durango Pine
Pinus engelmannii - Apache Pine
Pinus estevezii - Estevez's Pine
Pinus gordoniana (syn. P. douglasiana) - Gordon's Pine
Pinus greggii - Gregg's Pine
Pinus hartwegii - Hartweg's Pine
Pinus herrerae - Herrera's Pine
Pinus hondurensis (syn. P. caribaea var. hondurensis) - Honduras Pine
Pinus jaliscana - Jalisco Pine
Pinus johannis - Johann's Pinyon
Pinus lawsonii - Lawson's Pine
Pinus leiophylla - Chihuahua Pine
Pinus lumholtzii - Lumholtz's Pine
Pinus maximartinezii - Big-cone Pinyon
Pinus maximinoi (syn. P. tenuifolia) - Thinleaf Pine
Pinus montezumae - Montezuma Pine
Pinus nelsonii - Nelson's Pinyon
Pinus occidentalis - Hispaniolan Pine
Pinus oocarpa - Egg-cone Pine
Pinus patula - Patula Pine
Pinus orizabensis - Orizaba Pinyon
Pinus pinceana - Weeping Pinyon
Pinus praetermissa - McVaugh's Pine
Pinus pringlei - Pringle's Pine
Pinus pseudostrobus - Smooth-bark Mexican Pine
Pinus quadrifolia - Parry Pinyon
Pinus rzedowskii - Rzedowski's Pine
Pinus strobiformis - Chihuahua White Pine
Pinus tecunumanii - Tecun Uman Pine
Pinus teocote - Teocote Pine
Pinus tropicalis - Tropical PineThe modern English name pine derives from Latin Pinus by way of French pin; similar names are used in other Romance languages. In the past (pre-19th century) they were often known as fir, from Old Norse fyrre, by way of Middle English firre. The Old Norse name is still used for pines in some modern north European languages: in Danish, fyr, in Nowegian, furu, and Föhre in parts of Germany, but in modern English, "fir" is now restricted to and Pseudotsuga. Other unrelated European names include German Kiefer (the most widely used name in Germany), Swedish tall, Dutch den, Finnish mänty, Russian sosna, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croat bor, and Greek pitys. In Chinese it is song, in Japanese matsu, and in Korean it is Sonamu. In Hebrew it is oren. | Commercial planting of young Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) |
Pines are commercially among the most important of species used for timber in temperate and tropical regions of the world. Many are grown as a source of wood pulp for paper manufacture. This is because they are fast-growing softwoods that can be planted in relatively dense stands, and because their acidic decaying needles may inhibit the growth of other competing plants in the cropping areas. A typical example is Pinus radiata. The resin of some species is important as the source of turpentine. Some species have large seeds, called pine nuts, that are harvested and sold for cooking and baking. Some pines are used for Christmas trees, and pine cones are also widely used for Christmas decorations. Many pines are also very attractive ornamental trees planted in parks and large gardens. A large number of dwarf cultivars have been selected, suitable for planting in smaller gardens.
Pine plantations can be at risk of fire damage because pine resin is flammable to the point of a tree being explosive under some conditions.
Pine trees are also famous for their pleasant smell, but some people find the smell overbearing. A very small number of people are allergic to pine resin and its scent can trigger an asthma attack. What makes this particularly unusual is that it is also a treatment for asthma in some forms of alternative medicine.Nutritional usePines are well-known survival food plants. The soft, moist, white inner bark, or cambium, found clinging to the dead, woody outer bark is edible and very high in vitamins A and C. It can be eaten in slices raw as a snack or dried and ground up into a powder for use as a thickener/flavoring in stews, soups, and other foods. The bunches of young green cones found at the ends of branches make a healthy hiking snack. A tea made by steeping young, green pine needles in boiling water (known as "strunt" in Sweden) is high in vitamins A and C.* Farjon, A. 1984, 2nd edition 2005. Pines. E. J. Brill, Leiden. ISBN 90-04-13916-8
* Little, E. L., Jr., and Critchfield, W. B. 1969. Subdivisions of the Genus Pinus (Pines). US Department of Agriculture Misc. Publ. 1144 (Superintendent of Documents Number: A 1.38:1144).
* Richardson, D. M. (ed.). 1998. Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 530 p. ISBN 0-521-55176-5
* Mirov, N. T. 1967. The Genus Pinus. Ronald Press, New York (out of print).
* Classification of pines
* Arboretum de Villardebelle Images of cones of selected species
* Gymnosperm Database - Pinus
* Gymnosperm families - scroll down to the Pinaceae
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