Pinus tabuliformis var. mukdensis

Scientific name: Pinus tabuliformis var. mukdensis  (Uyeki ex Nakai) Uyeki  1925

Synonyms: Pinus mukdensis Uyeki ex Nakai, Pinus tabuliformis subsp. mukdensis (Uyeki ex Nakai) Businský

Common names: Manchurian red pine

Description

Tree to 25 m tall, with trunk to 0.8(-1.2) m in diameter. Bark dark grayish brown with reddish highlights, thin, passing from narrow ridges above to progressively larger, scaly plates lower down. Crown very broadly dome-shaped, or flat (hence the scientific name, Latin for “table-shaped”), with upwardly angled, long, heavy branches bearing thinner, downswept ones modestly clothed with foliage at the tips. Twigs yellowish brown, usually not waxy or only transiently so. Buds 12-18 mm long, slightly resinous. Needles (6-)10-15 cm long, thick and stiff, bright green to dark green. Individual needles with inconspicuous lines of stomates on both the inner and outer faces, a two-stranded midvein, and (2-)5-9(-10) resin canals all around the periphery usually touching the surface. Sheath 10-20 mm long, weathering to 5-10 mm and persisting and falling with the bundle. Pollen cones in a short grouping, 5-10 mm long, yellowish brown. Seed cones 4-9 cm long, broadly egg-shaped, with 50-80 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening shiny yellowish brown to brown, opening widely to release the seeds and then persisting several years before falling with the short, slender stalk to 1 cm long exposed face of the seed scales strongly projecting, especially near the base. Seed body 6-8 mm long, the easily detachable wing another 10-15 mm longer.

Recorded from NE China: Jilin, Liaoning; and North Korea.; (50-)1,000-2,500(-3,000) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

This taxon is poorly known, but appears to occur in areas where logging has not been severe, and at least within China may now have ceased due to a logging ban. No specific threats have been identified for this variety. It is uncertain if it is present in any protected area.

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.