Scientific name: Pinus patula Schiede ex D.F.L.Schlechtendal & Chamisso 1831

Synonyms: -

Common names: Jelecote pine, Mexican weeping pine, Spreading-leaved pine, Pino triste (Spanish)

Description

Tree to 35(-40) m tall, with trunk to 1 m in diameter. Bark bright reddish brown and smooth above, browner and strongly ridged and furrowed only near the base of large trunks. Crown dome-shaped, very open, with few, slender, gently rising branches densely clothed with drooping foliage at the tips. Twigs drooping, orange-brown, rough with the bases of scale leaves, hairless. Buds 12-20 mm long, not resinous. Needles in bundles of three or four (or five), each needle (10-)15-25(-30) cm long, thin, flexible, and drooping, lasting 2-3 years, yellowish green to pale or dark green. Individual needles with several evenly spaced, conspicuous lines of stomates on all three faces, and (one to) three (or four) resin canals at the corners, usually midway between the needle surface and the two-stranded midvein. Sheath 20-30 mm long, weathering to 10-15 mm and persisting and falling with the bundle. Pollen cones 15-20 mm long, yellowish brown with a reddish blush. Seed cones (5-)7-10(-12) cm long, narrowly egg-shaped, slightly asymmetrical, with 75-120(-150) seed scales, light greenish brown before maturity, ripening shiny yellowish brown to brown, opening widely to release the seeds or more commonly remaining closed many years before opening and falling with the very short or sometimes up to 12(-20) mm long, curved stalk. Seed scales very woody, wedge-shaped, the exposed face flat or a little swollen on the bottom scales away from the twig, topped by a small umbo bearing a tiny, fragile prickle. Seed body 4-6 mm long, the clasping wing another 15-20 mm longer.

Mountains of eastern Mexico, from western Tamaulipas and adjacent Nuevo León to Oaxaca and the state of Mexico. Forming pure stands or mixed with other pines and various hardwoods in moist pine-oak forests and cloud forests; (1,400-)1,800-2,800(-3,300) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

(Pinus patula is widespread and abundant despite exploitation for its timber. Regeneration is quick and the trees are fast growing. It is therefore assessed 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