Pinus montezumae

Scientific name: Pinus montezumae A.Lambert  1832

Synonyms: Pinus antoineana Roezl, Pinus aztecaensis Roezl, Pinus backhousiana Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus boothiana Roezl, Pinus boucheiana Roezl, Pinus bullata Roezl, Pinus carrierei Roezl, Pinus chalmaensis Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus coarctata Roezl, Pinus cornea Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus decaisneana Roezl, Pinus depauperata Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus doelleriana Roezl, Pinus elegans Roezl, Pinus exserta Roezl, Pinus grandis Roezl, Pinus haageana Roezl, Pinus hendersonii Roezl, Pinus horizontalis Roezl, Pinus inflexa Roezl, Pinus jostii Roezl, Pinus keteleeri Roezl, Pinus leroyi Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus monstrosa Roezl, Pinus ne-plus-ultra Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus nesselrodiana Roezl, Pinus nitida Roezl, Pinus occidentalis Kunth, Pinus ocote Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus ortgiesiana Roezl, Pinus paxtonii Roezl, Pinus pescatarei Roezl, Pinus pescatorei Roezl ex Carrière, Pinus planchonii Roezl, Pinus retracta Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus richardiana Roezl, Pinus rinzii Roezl, Pinus rohanii Roezl, Pinus rubescens Roezl, Pinus rumeliana Roezl, Pinus russelliana Lindl., Pinus san-rafaeliana Roezl, Pinus soulangeana Roezl, Pinus spinosa Roezl, Pinus tenangaensis Roezl, Pinus thelemannii Roezl, Pinus thibaudiana Roezl, Pinus tomacocaensis Roezl ex Gordon, Pinus troubezkoiana Roezl, Pinus valida Roezl, Pinus van-geertii Roezl, Pinus van-houttei Roezl, Pinus zacatlanae Roezl, Pinus zitacuarii Roezl

Common names: Montezuma pine, Rough-branched Mexican pine, Pino montezuma, Ocote hembra (Spanish)

Description

Tree to 30(-35) m tall, with trunk to 0.75(-1) m in diameter. Bark dark grayish brown, with blocky and interrupted, flat-topped but rough and scaly ridges separated by shallow to deep furrows. Crown dome-shaped to spherical, with heavy, upwardly angled to horizontal branches moderately clothed with foliage toward the tips. Twigs reddish brown, very rough with the bases of scale leaves, hairless. Buds 12-30 mm long, not conspicuously resinous. Needles in bundles of (three to) five (to seven), each needle (14-)20-30(-40) cm long, slender, flexible, and slightly drooping or a little thicker and stiff, lasting 2-3 years, dull light green to slightly bluish green with wax. Individual needles with several lines of stomates on all three faces, and (two or) three to six resin canals at the corners and surrounding the two-stranded midvein midway between it and the needle surface. Sheath 20-35 mm long at first, weathering to 15-25 mm long but persisting and falling with the bundle. Pollen cones 2-4 cm long, reddish brown. Seed cones (8-)12-18(-23) cm long, egg-shaped to cylindrical, often slightly curved but otherwise nearly symmetrical, with 80-150(-250) seed scales, green before maturity, ripening shiny yellowish to medium brown, opening narrowly or widely to release the seeds and then falling, leaving behind a few basal scales on the persistent thick stalk that is 1-2 cm long or shorter. Seed scales wedge-shaped, the exposed face horizontally diamond-shaped and fairly flat, or conically projecting on the basal scales, with a small, low umbo bearing a tiny, fragile prickle. Seed body 5-7 mm long, the clasping wing another (12-)15-25 mm longer.

Mountains of northeastern, central, and southern Mexico and southern Guatemala, from central Nuevo León and southern Durango (Mexico) to Baja Verapaz and Chimaltenango ( Guatemala). Forming pure, open stands or commonly mixed with other conifers and hardwood in a wide range of forests and woodlands; (1,050-)2,000-3,000(-3,500) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

(This very widespread and common species does not meet any of the criteria for listing as threatened, despite its exploitation for timber in much of its range. It is therefore assessed as Least Concern)

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland

Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.