Caribbean pine

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Caribbean pine
Pinus caribaea
Pinus caribaea Morelet 1851 2013 001.jpg
Pinus caribaea specimen in El Hatillo, Miranda, Venezuela
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: P. subg. Pinus
Section: P. sect. Trifoliae
Subsection: P. subsect. Australes
Species:
P. caribaea
Binomial name
Pinus caribaea
Synonyms

Pinus hondurensisSénéclauze

The Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) is a hard pine species native to Central America and the northern West Indies (in Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands). It belongs to subsection Australes in subgenus Pinus . It inhabits tropical and subtropical coniferous forests such as Bahamian pineyards, in both lowland savannas and montane forests.

Contents

Taxonomy

As of 2013, the species has three accepted varieties: [2]

Distribution

It has been proposed that the pines of Australes subsection (of which Caribbean pine is part) arrived to the Caribbean basin from the southeastern United States. [3] Regarding the population in the Bahamas, it has been proposed that this species emigrated into the region from Florida four or five thousand years ago, long after the end of the Ice Age, as the climate became wetter. Based on fossil species assemblages it is believed that the environment on the Bahamas was much less forested and a dry savannah during the glacial maximum some 18,000 years ago when the sea level was some 120 metres (390 feet) lower than it is today. [4] [5]

Paleoclimatic [6] and genetic data [7] have been used to propose that P. caribaea ultimately originated in Central America. According to chloroplast genetic data, P. caribaea lineages colonized the Caribbean islands from populations in Central America at least twice (one leading to Cuban populations and another leading to the populations on the Bahamas). [7]

Ecology

Periodic wildfires play a major role in the distribution of this species; this tree regenerates quickly and aggressively, replacing broadleaf trees after fires. In zones without fires, the succession continues and the pine forest is replaced by tropical broadleaf forest. The young pines require bright sunlight to grow, and are resistant to fire once they mature. [8] [9]

Uses

Lumber and pulpwood from this tree shipped to Florida is the main export of the Abaco Islands. [10]

Conservation

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, this species as a whole is considered of least concern, [1] [11] but two of the three varieties are considered endangered (var. caribaea) [12] or vulnerable (var. bahamensis). [13]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Pinus arizonica</i> Species of conifer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abaco Islands</span> Group of islands in the Bahamas

The Abaco Islands lie in the northern Bahamas, located about 193 miles east of Miami, Florida. The main islands are Great Abaco and Little Abaco, which is located just west of the northern tip of Great Abaco. There are several smaller barrier cays, of which the northernmost are Walker's Cay and its sister island Grand Cay. To the south, the next inhabited islands are Spanish Cay and Green Turtle Cay, with its settlement of New Plymouth, Great Guana Cay, private Scotland Cay, Man-O-War Cay, and Elbow Cay, with its settlement of Hope Town. Southernmost are Tilloo Cay and Lubbers Quarters. Another of note off Abaco's western shore is Gorda Cay, now a Disney-owned island and a cruise ship stop renamed Castaway Cay. Also in the vicinity is Moore's Island. On the Big Island of Abaco is Marsh Harbour, the Abacos' commercial hub and the Bahamas' third largest city, plus the resort area of Treasure Cay. Both have airports. A few mainland settlements of significance are Coopers Town and Fox Town in the north and Cherokee and Sandy Point in the south. Administratively, the Abaco Islands constitute seven of the 31 Local Government Districts of the Bahamas: Grand Cay, North Abaco, Green Turtle Cay, Central Abaco, South Abaco, Moore's Island, and Hope Town.

<i>Pinus armandii</i> Species of conifer

Pinus armandii, the Armand pine or Chinese white pine, is a species of pine native to China, occurring from southern Shanxi west to southern Gansu and south to Yunnan, with outlying populations in Anhui. It grows at altitudes of 2200–3000 m in Taiwan, and it also extends a short distance into northern Burma. In Chinese it is known as "Mount Hua pine" (华山松).

<i>Pinus occidentalis</i> Species of pine tree endemic to Hispaniola in the Caribbean

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<i>Pinus durangensis</i> Species of conifer

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<i>Pinus cubensis</i> Species of conifer

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<i>Pinus tropicalis</i>

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<i>Pinus massoniana</i> Species of conifer

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<i>Tyto pollens</i> Extinct species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahama swallow</span> Species of bird

The Bahama swallow is an endangered swallow endemic to The Bahamas.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western spindalis</span> Species of bird

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<i>Typhlatya</i> Species of crustacean

Typhlatya is a genus of shrimp in the family Atyidae. These are small, stygobitic shrimp found in the West Mediterranean region, Caribbean region, Ascension Island and the Galápagos, although the individual species often have very small ranges. Species in this genus are found in salt, brackish and fresh waters, mostly in anchialine habitats and none in the open sea.

The Bahamian dry forests are a tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion in the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, covering an area of 4,900 km2 (1,900 sq mi). They are found on much of the northern Bahamas, including Andros, Abaco, and Grand Bahama, where they are known as coppices. Dry forests are distributed evenly throughout the Turks and Caicos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahamian pineyards</span> Tropical and subtropical coniferous forest ecoregion

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuban pine forests</span>

The Cuban pine forests are a tropical coniferous forest ecoregion on the Caribbean islands of Cuba and Isla de la Juventud. They cover an area of 6,400 km2 (2,500 sq mi), occurring in separate sections in eastern Cuba and western Cuba and Isla de la Juventud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahama oriole</span> Species of songbird

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References

  1. 1 2 Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus caribaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T42348A2974430. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42348A2974430.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "The Plant List: Pinus caribaea". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2013.
  3. Adams, D.C., Jackson, J.F. (1997). A phylogenetic analysis of the southern pines (Pinus subsect. Australes Loudon): biogeographical and ecological implications. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 110: 681–692.
  4. Olson, Storrs L.; Pregill, Gregory K. (1982). "Fossil Vertebrates from the Bahamas — Introduction to the Paleontology of Bahaman Vertebrates" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 48: 1–7. doi:10.5479/si.00810266.48.1. S2CID   4838349 . Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  5. Pregill, Gregory K. (1982). "Fossil Vertebrates from the Bahamas — Fossil Amphibians and Reptiles from New Providence Island, Bahamas" (PDF). Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 48: 19–20. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  6. Dvorak, W. S., Hamrick, J. L. &Gutierrez E. A. (2005). The origin of Caribbean pine in the seasonal swamps of the Yucatán. International Journal of Plant Sciences 166: 985-994.
  7. 1 2 Jardón-Barbolla, L., Delgado-Valerio, P., Geada-López, G., Vázquez-Lobo, A., & Pinero D. (2011). Phylogeography of Pinus subsection Australes in the Caribbean Basin. Annals of Botany 107: 229-241.
  8. Vázquez-Yanes, C.; A. I. Batis Muñoz; M. I. Alcocer Silva; M. Gual Díaz & C. Sánchez Dirzo (1999). "Árboles y arbustos potencialmente valiosos para la restauración ecológica y la reforestación" (PDF) (in Spanish).
  9. "Ecosystems Of The Bahamas". The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  10. Bower, Paul (1997). "Abaco Islands". In Johnston, Bernard (ed.). Collier's Encyclopedia. Vol. I A to Ameland (First ed.). New York, NY: P.F. Collier. p. 4.
  11. "Pinus caribaea (pino macho) description - The Gymnosperm Database". www.conifers.org. Retrieved 2018-08-23.
  12. Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus caribaea var. caribaea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T34184A2849737. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T34184A2849737.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  13. Sanchez, M.; Hamilton, M.A.; Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T20364362A20402659. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T20364362A20402659.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.