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Pinus strobiformis

Pinus strobiformis - Southwestern white pine, Mexican white pine, Arizona white pine, Chihuahuan white pine
  • Pinus strobiformis - Southwestern white pine, Mexican white pine, Arizona white pine, Chihuahuan white pine  - Click to enlarge
  • Pinus strobiformis bark - Click to enlarge
  • Pinus strobiformis cones - Click to enlarge

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Weight1.5 kg
Height30 - 40 cm
PropagationGraft

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Scientific name: Pinus strobiformis  Engelmann  1848

Synonyms: Pinus ayacahuite subsp. strobiformis (Engelm.) A.E.Murray, Pinus ayacahuite var. brachyptera Shaw, Pinus ayacahuite var. novogaliciana Carvajal, Pinus ayacahuite var. strobiformis (Engelm.) Lemmon, Pinus novogaliciana Carvajal, Pinus strobiformis subsp. carvajalii (Silba) Silba, Pinus strobiformis subsp. potosiensis (Silba) Silba, Pinus strobiformis var. carvajalii Silba, Pinus strobiformis var. potosiensis Silba 

Common names: Southwestern white pine, Mexican white pine, Arizona white pine, Chihuahuan white pine (English), Cahuite, Huiyoco, Nacahuite, Pinabete, Pino blanco, Pino nayar (Spanish)

 

Description

Tree to 25(-35) m tall, with trunk to 1(-1.5) m in diameter. Bark pale gray and smooth at first, becoming dark grayish brown and sinuously furrowed between uneven, flat-topped, narrow vertical ridges. Crown conical at first, rounding and becoming more irregular with age, with widely spaced, upwardly angled to horizontal slender branches loosely clothed with needles their tips. Twigs light reddish brown and hairless to minutely hairy at first, graying and balding with age. Buds about 10 mm long, resinous. Needles in bundles of five, each needle (4-)5-9 cm long, flexible, slightly twisted, and spreading a little, lasting (2-)3-5 years, dark green to bluish green with wax over the stomates on all three faces. Individual needles with only none to two lines of stomates on the outer face, an undivided midvein, and two (to four) small resin canals touching the epidermis of the outer face. Sheath 15-20 mm, soon shed. Pollen cones 6-12mm long, yellowish brown. Seed cones (9-)15-25(-30) cm long, roughly cylindrical and curved, with about 100 seed scales, green tinged with purple before maturity, ripening light brown, opening widely to release the seeds and then falling, on a stout stalk 1.5-2.5(6) cm long. Seed scales diamond-shaped, the exposed tip thick, elongate, and usually curled or angled back to varying degrees, ending in a narrow, triangular umbo. Seed body 10-13 mm long, the wing reduced to a shallow ridge at the tip.

Mountains of southwestern North America, from north-central Arizona and north-central New Mexico, or perhaps southwestern Colorado, south to southwestern Durango and western Tamaulipas, with outliers in central Jalisco and southwestern San Luis Potosi (Mexico). Forming small pure stands or more commonly mixed with other pines, other conifers, and various oaks and other hardwoods in montane to subalpine forests; 1,900-3,000(-3,500) m.

 

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

The range of this species is very extensive and it is common to abundant in pine forests in the Sierra Madre Occidental and elsewhere. There may be some decline due to exploitation of timber trees in some localities, but overall the population can be considered stable and is therefore assessed as Least Concern.

Pinus strobiformis is a montane pine of mesic sites, its altitudinal range is 1,900-3,500 m a.s.l. It occurs on sites with relatively deep, humus-rich though often rocky soils, especially on north-facing slopes or along mountain streams. It grows in small, pure stands within pine or pine-oak forest, but more commonly it is mixed with Pinus arizonica, Pinus engelmannii, Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana, Pinus durangensisPinus lumholtzii, and/or various species of Quercus and Arbutus. In a more mesic forest type, it is associated with Abies and Pseudotsuga, and at the highest altitudes with Pinus hartwegii. The climate in the Sierra Madre Occidental is characterized by summer rains (thunderstorms) as well as winter precipitation; winter snows are common at the higher altitudes.

The population is thought to be stable despite some localized over-exploitation. Potential threats are logging if carried out unsustainably, and perhaps susceptibility to white pine blister rust, although at present there is no evidence of this.

As one of the 'soft pines', Pinus strobiformis, in the vernacular of northern Mexico often equated with Pinus ayacahuite, is sought after by lumber men as it is considered to supply wood of good quality for construction and carpentry work. The wood is also considered good for making violins. The resin is used medicinally. It is rare in horticulture and mostly confined to arboreta.

This species occurs in several protected areas on either side of the Mexico – USA border.

 

Cultivars:

Pinus strobiformis ‘Coronado’ 
Pinus strobiformis ‘Crawford’                           
Pinus strobiformis ‘Densata’                                 
Pinus strobiformis ‘Foxtail’                                                                       
Pinus strobiformis ‘Glauca’                              
Pinus strobiformis ‘Glauca Compacta’                                     
Pinus strobiformis ‘Loma Linda’                           
Pinus strobiformis ‘Mary Sweeny’                                                     
Pinus strobiformis ‘Mora Compact’                                             
Pinus strobiformis ‘Pendula’                               
Pinus strobiformis ‘Strobi’                                      
Pinus strobiformis ‘Undulata’ 
Pinus strobiformis ‘White Winter’                                                      
Pinus strobiformis ‘Windswept’     

 

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.


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