Pinus brutia | |
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Turkish pine foliage and cones | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Pinaceae |
Genus: | Pinus |
Subgenus: | P. subg. Pinus |
Section: | P. sect. Pinus |
Subsection: | Pinus subsect. Pinaster |
Species: | P. brutia |
Binomial name | |
Pinus brutia | |
Distribution |
Pinus brutia, commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. [2] It is also known as East Mediterranean pine, Afghan pine, and Brutia pine. The name "Calabrian pine" comes from an introduced grove in the Calabria region of southern Italy; historically this region was called Bruttium, which is likely where the specific epithet "brutia" comes from. [2] Pinus brutia bears many similarities with other, closely related species such as Pinus halepensis and Pinus canariensis . Turkish pine forms a species complex with the former. [3]
Pinus brutia is a medium-size tree, reaching 20–35 metres (66–115 feet) tall with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m (3+1⁄2 ft), exceptionally 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft). The young bark is thin and red-orange, maturing to grey-brown to orange in color, fissured to flaky in texture. The leaves are needle-like, slender, 10–16 centimetres (4–6+1⁄4 inches) long, dark green to yellow-green. [2] [4] The needles come in fascicles of two and rarely three, [2] [5] the latter specimens showing similarities in cone structure to the related Pinus canariensis. [5]
The male cones are squat, 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) long. [4] [6] The female cones are short, with rigid, woody scales, 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) long, 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) broad, maturing from green to red-orange. [6] [5] They most often appear in whorls of 3 to 4, and generally open within two years of fertilization. [2] [6] The seeds are usually wind dispersed, dropping from the cones after they open, but some trees have been observed with cones that do not open enough to facilitate wind dispersal. Frankis believes Krüper's nuthatch assists these trees in dispersal. [2]
Pinus brutia is closely related to Pinus halepensis, and female P. brutia cones have been shown to accept and hybridize with P. halepensis pollen. In the past it has been considered a variety or subspecies of P. halepensis. [5] The species is now treated as distinct, and forms a species complex across the Mediterranean with P. halepensis. [3]
Italian botanist Michele Tenore described the species in 1811. While Tenore did not provide an explanation for the specific epithet, Frankis believes Tenore named it after the historical region of Brutium, now Calabria, where an introduced population has become naturalized. [2]
The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to southeasternmost Bulgaria, [9] the East Aegean Islands of Aegean Sea, Crete, Crimea, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus. [10] It generally occurs at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to 600 m (2,000 ft), up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft) in the south of its range.[ citation needed ]
Pinus brutia is a diagnostic species of the vegetation class Pinetea halepensis. [11]
The Krüper's nuthatch, a rare nuthatch, is largely restricted to forests of Turkish pine and depends heavily on it for feeding; the ranges of the two species are largely coincident.[ citation needed ]
P. brutia is resistant to the Israeli pine bast scale insect Matsucoccus josephi and is a major host for Thaumetopoea caterpillars.
The species covers 175,000 hectares (430,000 acres) in Cyprus, roughly ~90% of all woodland coverage on the island. [12] It forms ectomycorrhizal associations with numerous species of fungi, and its logs and branches are excellent substrates for many kinds of decomposing organisms.
Turkish pine is host to a sap-sucking aphid Marchalina hellenica . Under normal circumstances, this insect does no significant damage to the pine, but is of great importance for the excess sugar it secretes. This sugar, "honeydew", is collected by honey bees which make it into a richly flavoured and valuable honey, "pine honey" (Turkish, çam balı), with reputed medicinal benefits.
The "Lone Pine", a prominent landmark tree at an ANZAC First World War battle at Gallipoli, was this species. Cones from the battlefield were taken home to Australia, and plants sourced from the seeds were planted as living memorials.
"Lone Pine" memorials, based on cones brought back from Gallipoli, may use this species or Aleppo pine. Some memorials utilise other species altogether. [13]
It is widely planted for timber, both in its native area (it is the most important tree in forestry in Turkey and Cyprus) and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region east to Pakistan. The timber is used for many purposes including carpentry, industry, general constructions, firewood and pulp. [14] In Israel it is sometimes preferred to the wider-used Pinus halepensis (Aleppo pine) because of its resistance to Matsucoccus josephi. It is also known for being well suited to recreational sites.
Pinus brutia is a popular ornamental tree, extensively planted in parks and gardens in hot dry areas (such as southern California, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada, as well as throughout Arizona and central Texas in the United States), where its considerable heat and drought tolerance is highly valued. The subspecies eldarica is the most drought tolerant form, used in Afghanistan, Iran and more recently in the Southwestern United States. In this region, P. brutia subsp. eldarica is referred to as "Eldarica pine", "Afghan pine" or "Mondell pine" (after Mondell Bennett, a commercial tree grower in New Mexico who popularized the species starting in 1969). [15]
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus Pinus of the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.
Cedrus libani, the cedar of Lebanon or Lebanese cedar, is a species of tree in the genus Cedrus, a part of the pine family, native to the mountains of the Eastern Mediterranean basin. It is a large evergreen conifer that has great religious and historical significance in the cultures of the Middle East, and is referenced many times in the literature of ancient civilisations. It is the national emblem of Lebanon and is widely used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.
Pinus mugo, known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Southeast Europe.
Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as well as Crimea and in the high mountains of Northwest Africa.
Pinus peuce is a species of pine native to the mountains of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, the extreme southwest of Serbia, and the extreme north of Greece, growing typically at (600-) 1,000-2,200 (-2,300) m altitude. It often reaches the alpine tree line in this area. The mature size is up to 35–40 m height, and 1.5 m trunk diameter. However, the height of the tree diminishes strongly near the upper tree line and may even obtain shrub sizes.
Pinus canariensis, the Canary Island pine, is a species of gymnosperm in the conifer family Pinaceae. It is a large, evergreen tree, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean.
Pinus clausa is a species of pine endemic to the Southeastern United States. Its common names include sand pine, Florida spruce pine, and scrub pine.
Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America.
Pinus leiophylla, commonly known as Chihuahua pine, smooth-leaf pine, and yellow pine, is a tree with a range primarily in Mexico, with a small extension into the United States in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. The Mexican range extends along the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur from Chihuahua to Oaxaca, from 29° North Lat. to 17°, between 1600 and 3000 meters altitude. It requires about a rainfall 600 to 1000 mm a year, mostly in summer. It tolerates frosts in winter.
The stone pine, botanical name Pinus pinea, also known as the Italian stone pine, Mediterranean stone pine, umbrella pine and parasol pine, is a tree from the pine family (Pinaceae). The tree is native to the Mediterranean region, occurring in Southern Europe and the Levant. The species was introduced into North Africa millennia ago, and is also naturalized in the Canary Islands, South Africa and New South Wales.
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book The Gardener's Dictionary; he probably never went to Aleppo but mentions seeing large specimens at Goodwood in the garden of the Duke of Richmond, which were transplanted in 1739.
Pinus latteri, or Tenasserim pine, is a pine native to Mainland Southeast Asia.
Pinus roxburghii, commonly known as chir pine or longleaf Indian pine, is a species of pine tree native to the Himalayas. It was named after William Roxburgh.
Marchalina hellenica is a scale insect that lives in the eastern Mediterranean region, mainly in Greece and Turkey. It is an invasive species in Melbourne, Australia. It lives by sucking the sap of pine trees, mainly the Turkish Pine and, to smaller extent, Aleppo Pine, Scots Pine and Stone Pine. It can be found in the cracks and under the scales of the bark of these trees, hidden under the white cotton-like wax it secretes. Its main form of reproduction is parthenogenesis.
Krüper's nuthatch is a species of bird in the family Sittidae. It is a small to medium-sized nuthatch, measuring 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in) in length. The upperparts are blue-gray, with the front half of the crown black in adults of both sexes, but with a less marked in the female rear. The species has a black or gray eyestripe and a prominent white supercilium. The underparts are blue-gray in males and buff-gray in females, with a large, crescent-shaped rufous pectoral patch. The Krüper's nuthatch feeds on insects in the summer and seeds, especially pines, in the fall and winter. Breeding takes place between March and May, and the nest is usually placed in a tree hole. The clutch consists of five to seven eggs, incubated by the female and fed by the male. Both parents take part in feeding the young.
The Lone Pine was a solitary tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine in August 1915. It was a Turkish or East Mediterranean pine.
Pinus massoniana is a species of pine, native to Taiwan, a wide area of central and southern China, and northern Vietnam.
The Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests is an ecoregion in the lands around the Aegean Sea. The ecoregion covers most of mainland Greece, the Greek Aegean Islands, the western coast of Turkey, the southern Vardar river valley in North Macedonia, the southern Struma river valley at the extreme south-western corner of Bulgaria.
Morchella dunalii is a species of fungus in the family Morchellaceae (Ascomycota). A widespread species in the Mediterranean basin, M. dunalii is so far known from the Balearic islands, the islands of Corsica and Cyprus, France, Spain and Turkey, where it appears to be abundant. It fruits very early in the season on calcareous soil, usually in association with the Aleppo pine, Calabrian pine and holm oak.