Pinus heldreichii | |
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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. heldreichii |
Binomial name | |
Pinus heldreichii | |
Natural range of Pinus heldreichii |
Pinus heldreichii (synonym P. leucodermis; family Pinaceae), the Bosnian pine or Heldreich's pine, [2] is a species of pine native to mountainous areas of the Balkans and southern Italy. [3]
It is an evergreen tree up to 25–35 metres (82–115 feet) in height, and 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft) in trunk diameter.
It is a member of the hard pine group, Pinus subgenus Pinus, with leaves ('needles') in fascicles (bundles) of two, with a persistent sheath. They are 4.5–10 centimetres (1+3⁄4–4 inches) long and 1.5–2 millimetres (1⁄16–3⁄32 in) thick. Cones are 5–9 cm (2–3+1⁄2 in) long, with thin, fragile scales; they are dark blue-purple before maturation, turning brown when ripe about 16–18 months after pollination. The 6–7 mm (1⁄4–9⁄32 in) long seeds have a 2–2.5 cm (3⁄4–1 in) wing and are wind-dispersed.
A tree in Northern Greece was dated as 1,075 years old in 2016. [4]
What is believed to be the oldest known living tree in Europe has been discovered in a remote mountainous area of the Pollino National Park in southern Italy. It is a Heldreich's pine estimated at 1,230 years. Much of its core has turned to dust, but there is enough new growth to confirm it is still alive. [2]
A notable specimen in the Pirin Mountains of Bulgaria, known as Baikushev's pine, is 24 m (79 ft) tall, 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in) in diameter, and is estimated to be over 1300 years old. [5]
The species was first described as Pinus heldreichii by the Swiss botanist K. Hermann Christ in honour of Theodor von Heldreich in 1863 from specimens collected on Mount Olympus, and then described a second time as P. leucodermis in 1864; the author of the second description (the Austrian botanist F. Antoine who found it on Orjen above the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro) being unaware of the slightly earlier publication by Christ. Some minor morphological differences have been claimed between the two descriptions (leading to the maintenance of both as separate taxa by a few botanists), but this is not supported by modern studies of the species, which show that both names refer to the same taxon. The discrepancies in the descriptions are largely due to Christ's cone specimens being immature and shrunken after drying, having been collected in July, four months before maturity.
It can be found in the mountains of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, southwestern Bulgaria, Albania, North Macedonia, Kosovo, northern Greece (Valia Kalda, Smolikas and Vasilitsa, Mount Olympus and in other high mountains), and locally in southern Italy (it is the symbol of the Pollino National Park), growing at 1,500–2,500 m (4,900–8,200 ft) altitude. It reaches the alpine tree line in these areas.
Bosnian pine is a popular ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, giving reliable, steady, though not fast, growth on a wide range of sites, and with a very neat, conical crown. It is also noted for its very decorative purple cones. The cultivars ‘Smidtii’ [6] and ‘Compact Gem’ [7] have been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [8] It is hardy down to at least −45 °C (−49 °F), and tolerant of severe wind exposure. Many in cultivation are still grown under the name Pinus leucodermis or Pinus heldreichii var. leucodermis.
P. heldreichii is able to adapt to extreme environmental conditions and is also a great colonizer. It is resistant to sulphur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, nitrogen dioxide and ozone pollution and is further able to withstand wind, ice and heavy snow. These abilities makes it suitable for reforestation of extensive dry and high-altitude areas. In the south of Italy it is planted because it is less susceptible to pests than other pine species. [9]
The wood of the tree species is very aromatic, containing several types of monoterpenes and diterpenes, noticeably limonene, and thus is commonly utilised in the Balkans for making wine barrels [10] for white wines.
Pinus sylvestris, the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-green leaves and orange-red bark.
Western white pine, also called silver pine and California mountain pine, is a species of pine in the family Pinaceae. It occurs in mountain ranges of northwestern North America and is the state tree of Idaho.
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. The world's oldest black pine, located in the Banaz district of Uşak, Türkiye, is estimated to be 1000 years old. This makes it significant in the country, which is known for a very dry climate, inhospitable for most trees. It has a length of 11 meters, a diameter of 3 meters and a circumference of 9.60 meters.
Pinus jeffreyi, also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is named in honor of its botanist documenter John Jeffrey.
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 strobus, commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada, west through the Great Lakes region to southeastern Manitoba and Minnesota, United States, and south along the Appalachian Mountains and upper Piedmont to northernmost Georgia and very rare in some of the higher elevations in northeastern Alabama. It is considered rare in Indiana.
Picea abies, the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe.
Pinus contorta, with the common names lodgepole pine and shore pine, and also known as twisted pine, and contorta pine, is a common tree in western North America. It is common near the ocean shore and in dry montane forests to the subalpine, but is rare in lowland rain forests. Like all pines, it is an evergreen conifer.
Pinus rigida, the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuitable for growth, such as acidic, sandy, and low-nutrient soils.
Pinus wallichiana is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valleys at altitudes of 1800–4300 m, reaching 30–50 m (98–164 ft) in height. It favours a temperate climate with dry winters and wet summers. In Pashto, it is known as Nishtar.
Coulter pine, or big-cone pine, is a conifer in the genus Pinus of the family Pinaceae. Coulter pine is a native evergreen conifer that lives up to 100 years of age. Coulter pine occurs in a mediterranean climate. Winter rains are infrequent, and the summer is dry with occasional summer thunderstorms. It is a native of the coastal mountains of Southern California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico. Isolated groves are found as far north as Clearlake, California on the flanks of Mt. Konocti and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve. Although it has a limited range in the wild, the Coulter pine is a popular ornamental tree and is grown in many countries. Although geographically isolated, these Coulter pine populations were very similar in all of three morphological characteristics studies.Oleoresins were also similar.
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.
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 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. 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. 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.
Pinus cembra, also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine, Arolla pine, Austrian stone pine, or just stone pine, is a species of pine tree in the subgenus Strobus.
Picea omorika, commonly known as the Pančić spruce or Serbian spruce, is a species of coniferous tree endemic to the Drina River valley in western Serbia, and eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a total range of only about 60 ha, at 800–1,600 m (2,600–5,200 ft) altitude. It was originally discovered near the Serbian village of Zaovine, on Mount Tara, in 1875, and named by the Serbian botanist Josif Pančić; the specific epithet omorika is simply the Serbian word for the tree.
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 quadrifolia, the Parry pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group native to southernmost California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico, from 33° 30' N south to 30° 30' N. The Parry pinyon has a lifespan of around 200 to 500 years. It is usually found in rocky areas that often have thin soil. It occurs at moderate altitudes from 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), rarely as low as 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and as high as 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). It is scarce and often scattered in this region, forming open woodlands, usually mixed with junipers. Other common names include nut pine and fourleaf pinyon pine.
Cedrus atlantica, the Atlas cedar, is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae, native to the Rif and Atlas Mountains of Morocco, and to the Tell Atlas in Algeria. A majority of the modern sources treat it as a distinct species Cedrus atlantica, but some sources consider it a subspecies of Lebanon cedar.