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Scientific name: Pinus taiwanensis Hayata 1911
Synonyms: Pinus brevispica Hayata, Pinus luchuensis subsp. taiwanensis (Hayata) D.Z.Li
Common names: Formosa pine, Taiwan red pine, Tai wan song (Chinese)
Description
Tree to 35(-50) m tall, with trunk to 0.8(-1) m in diameter. Bark dark grayish brown, broken up into small, irregular plates by narrow furrows. Crown cylindrical, flat-topped, open, with numerous slender, short, horizontal or gently rising branches sparsely clothed with foliage. Twigs yellowish brown to reddish brown, hairless, rough with the bases of scale leaves. Buds 10-15 mm long, sparsely resinous. Needles in bundles of two, each needle (4.5-)8-12(-17) cm long, slender but stiff, straight and scarcely twisted, lasting 2-3 years, glossy dark green. Individual needles with inconspicuous lines of stomates on both faces, and (two to) four to six (to eight) resin canals all around the two-stranded midvein, mostly midway to the needle surface. Sheath 10-15 mm long, weathering to (2-)5-10 mm and persisting and falling with the bundle. Pollen cones 1-2 cm long, yellowish brown to reddish brown. Seed cones 3-7 cm long, egg-shaped, with 40-100 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening orange-brown to rich brown, opening widely to release the seeds and then persisting a while before falling with the very short, stout stalk to about 1 cm long. Seed scales variably spoon-shaped, the exposed face horizontally diamond-shaped to five-sided, crossed by a ridge topped by a small, flat or slightly raised umbo bearing a tiny, fragile or persistent prickle. Seed body 5-6 mm long, the easily detachable wing another 10-15 mm longer.
Abundant in the mountains of Taiwan (hence the scientific and common names) and scattered on the Chinese mainland west to Henan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. Forming pure, dense or open stands or mixed with other conifers and oaks and other hardwoods on mountain slopes; (600-)750-3,000(-3,400) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
(This species has a fairly small extent of occurrence (between 5,000 and 10,000 km²), but is known from more than ten locations and whilst there has probably been decline in the past there no evidence for a continuing decline, hence is listed here 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.
Rootstock: Pinus sylvestris
