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Scientific name: Pinus brutia var. pityusa (Steven) Silba 1985
Synonyms: Pinus brutia subsp. pityusa (Steven) Nahal, Pinus brutia var. caucasica Lipsky, Pinus brutia var. stankewiczii (Sukaczev) Frankis, Pinus halepensis subsp. pityusa (Steven) A.E.Murray, Pinus halepensis subsp. stankewiczii (Sukaczev) A.E.Murray, Pinus halepensis var. pityusa (Steven) Gordon, Pinus istratovae L.V.Orlova, Pinus pithyusa Fox-Strangw., Pinus pityusa Steven, Pinus pityusa var. stankewiczii Sukaczev, Pinus stankewiczii (Sukaczev) Fomin
Common names: Pitsundian pine
Trees to 25(-30) m tall; trunk to 1.5(-2) m d.b.h., usually a straight bole, or slightly sinuous, sometimes forked. Bark thin, orange-brown, becoming thick only on lower trunk of large trees, then deeply fissured longitudinally, scaly, breaking into elongated plates, pale brown to red-brown. Branches long, spreading and ascending, forming a broad pyramidal or rounded, open crown. Foliage branches slender, 3-5 mm thick (to 10 mm on cone-bearing shoots), becoming rough with pulvini from fallen leaf fascicles, glabrous, new shoots glaucous green, yellowish brown and finally grey. Buds ovoid-conical, acute, 10-15 mm long, not resinous, cataphylls with recurved apices, reddish brown fringed with white hairs. Leaves in fascicles of 2 (sometimes 3), held by a 10-16 mm long, persistent sheath, retained on branchlet 2-3 years, rigid and spreading, 5-8 cm long, 1 mm wide. Margins minutely serrulate, leaf colour bright or dark green, stomata in fine lines on all surfaces. Pollen cones spirally arranged, short cylindrical, 1-2 cm long, yellow. Seed cones ovoid-conical of 2-3(-4), short pedunculate to nearly sessile, persistent, spreading forward or at right angle to shoot when full grown, narrowly or broadly ovoid-conical or ovoid to rarely subglobose when closed, 6-11(-13) cm long, variously serotinous, 3-5 cm wide when closed, 5-8 cm wide when opened. Seed scales thick woody, rigid, straight, oblong, apophyses nearly flat or slightly raised, (sharply) transversely keeled and with thin rays radiating from the centre, more or less rhombic or often with a rounded upper margin, to 20 mm wide at mid-cone, lustrous red-brown weathering grey, umbo flat or depressed, 4-7 mm wide, broadly rhombic in outline, tan or grey-brown, unarmed. Seeds obovoid, slightly flattened, 6-7(-8) mm long, grey-brown, sometimes dark mottled, wing 14-20 mm long, 8-11 mm wide, oblique, grey-brown with darker streaks.
Confined to the Caucasus region: Krasnodar, Transcaucasia (Abkhazia), Georgia, Krym (Crimea); 0-1500 m.
Red List Category & Criteria: Vulnerable
The extent of occurrence (EOO) of this variety has not been calculated due to a lack of herbarium specimens available for mapping. Although it extends in scattered localities along the coast for several hundred kilometres its area of occupancy (AOO) is small, certainly not above 1,000 km². Continuing decline is inferred mainly from development along the Crimean coast which has removed suitable habitat. The variety therefore qualifies for listing as Vulnerable.
This variety occurs in disjunct subpopulations along the NE coast of the Black Sea. According to Little and Critchfield’s map 31 there are 4-5 locations. According to ArcView mapping based on herbarium collections using the GeoCat Red List Tool there are four locations (subpopulations).
Grows on coastal mountains and hills around the NE section of the Black Sea. Development along the coast of the Black Sea, especially near Yalta, has and continues to destroy suitable habitat. This may be the case also in locations further east. No uses are recorded but it is probably being used locally.
This taxon is present in a few protected areas but most localities with this pine are unprotected.
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
