Pinus pinea

Scientific name: Pinus pinea Linnaeus  1753

Synonyms: Apinus pinea (L.) Neck. ex Rydb., Pinea esculenta Opiz, Pinus africana K.Koch, Pinus aracanensis Knight ex Gordon, Pinus arctica Carrière, Pinus esculenta Opiz, Pinus fastuosa Salisb., Pinus fragilis Carrière, Pinus maderiensis Ten., Pinus sativa Garsault

Common names: Mediterranean stone pine, Italian stone pine, Stone pine, Umbrella pine, Pino piñonero (Spanish), Pino domestic (Italian), Pinheiro-manso (Portuguese)

Description

Tree to 25(-30) m tall, with trunk to 1.5 m in diameter. Bark with rich reddish brown, flat-topped, irregular plates separated by broad, dark brown furrows. Crown very wide spreading, broadly  and shallowly domed, with numerous slender to thick, horizontal to upwardly angled, outstretched branches thickly clothed with foliage near the ends. Twigs yellowish brown to grayish brown, hairless, rough with the bases of scale leaves. Buds 6-12 mm long, not resinous. Needles in bundles of two, each needle (6-)8-15(-20) cm long, thick, stiff, and slightly twisted but not prickly, lasting (2-)3(-4) years, bluish green to bright green. Individual needles with numerous lines of stomates on both faces, a two-stranded midvein, and usually two (or three) interrupted resin canals along the midline of each face next to the surface. Sheath 10-15 mm long, weathering to 5-10 mm and persisting and falling with the bundle. Pollen cones 10-20 mm long, pale orange-brown. Seed cones (6-)8-12(-15) cm long, spherically egg-shaped, with 50-100 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening shiny, slightly reddish brown, opening widely to release the seeds and persisting 2-3 years before falling off the thick, short stalk often leaving a few basal scales behind. Seed scales broadly paddle-shaped, the exposed face five- or six-sided, prominently domed and crossed by ridges, the umbo large, flat, and surrounded by a channel. Seed body 15-22 mm long, plump, the easily detachable wing only up to another 10 mm longer.

Scattered throughout the lands on the northern side of the Mediterranean Sea with outliers east to the Pontic Mountains southeast of the Black Sea in northeastern Turkey. Growing in pure open stands most often near the sea but also in the interior of Spain; 0-350(-1,000) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

(The widespread occurrence of this species, partly due to past plantings in the Mediterranean, some of which cannot be verified as to indigenity with certainty, ensures it is not threatened with extinction globally)

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.