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Scientific name: Pinus occidentalis Swartz 1788
Synonyms: -
Common names: Hispaniolan pine, Pino criollo (Spanish)
Description
Tree to 30(-45) m tall, the long, straight trunk to 1(-1.5) m in diameter. Bark grayish brown, thick, deeply furrowed between narrow, scaly, flat-topped ridges. Crown oval to bowl-shaped, with slender, horizontal to upswept branches densely clothed with foliage at the tips. Twigs brown beneath a waxy blush, rough with the bases of scale leaves, hairless. Buds 8-15 mm long, slightly resinous. Needles in bundles of (two or) three to five (or six), each needle (10-)15-20 cm long, flexible and drooping, lasting 2-3 years. Individual needles with evident lines of stomates on both the inner and outer faces, and three to five resin canals touching the two-stranded midvein at its corners and sides. Sheath 8-15 mm long, persisting and falling with the bundle. Pollen cones 10-15 mm long, brownish yellow. Seed cones (4-)6-9(-11) cm long, egg-shaped, often a bit asymmetrical, with 50-100 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening shiny dark brown, opening widely to release the seeds and then persisting several years before falling with the slender, 1-2 cm long, curved to straight stalk. Seed scales paddle-shaped, the exposed face horizontally diamond-shaped or five-sided, crossed by a modest ridge topped by a small umbo with a stout, sharp prickle. Seed body 4-6 mm long, the easily detachable wing 9-16(-18) mm longer.
Western Hispaniola (hence the scientific name, Latin for “western”), in Haiti and the western Dominican Republic, and eastern Cuba, in Granma and Santiago de Cuba provinces. Forming pure, open to dense stands or mixed with various hardwoods, primarily in the mountains today; (50-)900-2,700(3,175) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Endangered
On the basis of estimates of rates of exploitation given by Darrow and Zanoni (1991), a decline of at least 50% over the last three generations (100 years) is very plausible. As this decline has not ceased and the area of occupancy based on localities from comprehensive collecting of herbarium specimens (69 collections, 41 localities) and a grid width of two km (appropriate for a seriously depleted population) is well below the 500 km² threshold, this species meets the criteria for listing as Endangered. Logging has greatly reduced the abundance of mature trees as it has been carried out uncontrolled and unsustainably, at least in the past and probably still at present in several parts of its range. This species occurs in diverse habitats from the lowlands at about 200 m a.s.l. to the highest mountain ridges (Pico Duarte and Pico La Pelona) on the island at almost 3,200 m. The more extensive and pure stands occur from 900-2,700 m, but in more accessible areas these are much depleted. Soils are either derived from limestone at lower altitudes, or more acid, clay-like and shallow in the Cordillera Central. Pinus occidentalis consequently is found in a variety of vegetation types, mostly occupying the shallow, nutrient-poor soils and rock outcrops, where it may occur in open or dense, pure stands or mixed with various broad-leaved trees and shrubs. In disturbed (grazed) areas Pteridium aquilinum can dominate the ground cover; in frequently burnt areas grasses (e.g. Danthonia domingensis, Andropogon spp.) and again Pteridium replace shrubs and small trees. Annual precipitation varies greatly with exposition, but ranges between 1,200-1,600 mm where most pine forests occur, it exceeds 2,300 mm in the N and E of the Cordillera Central. There is a 3-5 month dry season during winter, which may bring frost, but rarely snow, at the higher altitudes above 1,600-1,800 m. Being the only species of Pinus on Hispaniola and formerly abundant over much of the island, it has been heavily exploited for timber. According to Darrow and Zanoni (1991) it has been depleted from an estimated 3 million ha of primeval more or less pure pine forests to perhaps less than 5% of that area, but accurate estimates of even the present forest extent are lacking. Protection in the Dominican Republic is inadequate, but existent, contrary to the virtually uncontrolled situation in Haiti (Darrow and Zanoni, 1991). Hispaniolan pine is an important timber tree on its native island Hispaniola, where despite intensive exploitation it is still common. Its wood has good qualities comparable to those found in the more widespread species Pinus caribaea and is used as round wood for transmission poles, fence posts, construction timber, crates, boxes, and made into wood pulp for particleboard as well as paper. There is limited resin tapping for local use only. It is a tropical pine and even those trees at the highest altitudes in the Dominican Republic are not likely to yield progeny that can be grown successfully in cool temperate climates. Protection in protected areas is legally provided in the Dominican Republic, but poorly enforced. What is really needed is a stricter regulation of timber extraction to make it sustainable.
References
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
