Pinus canariensis

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Pinus canariensis, the Canary Island pine, is a species of gymnosperm in the conifer family Pinaceae. It is a large, evergreen tree, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands of the Atlantic Ocean.

Description

Pinus canariensis is a large evergreen tree, growing to Template:Convert tall and Template:Convert diameter at breast height,<ref name="International2002">Template:Cite book</ref> exceptionally up to Template:Cvt tall and Template:Cvt girth (Template:Cvt diameter).<ref name=MT1>Template:Cite web</ref> The green to yellow-green leaves are needle-like, in bundles of three, Template:Cvt long,<ref name="International2002" /> with finely toothed margins and often drooping. A characteristic of the species is the occurrence of epicormic shoots with single (not in threes) glaucous (bluish-green) juvenile leaves growing from the lower trunk, but in its natural area this only occurs as a consequence of fire or other damage. The cones are Template:Cvt long, Template:Cvt wide,<ref name="International2002" /> glossy chestnut-brown in colour and frequently remaining closed for several years (serotinous cones). Its closest relatives are the chir pine (P. roxburghii) from the Himalayas, the Mediterranean pines P. pinea, P. halepensis, P. pinaster and P. brutia from the eastern Mediterranean.

Taxonomy

Pinus canariensis was first described in 1825 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, who attributed the name to Christen Smith.<ref name=IPNI_262832-1>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Tropicos</ref> It has been placed in subsection Pinaster of subgenus Pinus, section Pinus. The other species in the subsection are mainly Mediterranean in distribution, with one species (P. roxburghii) from the Himalayas.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Distribution and habitat

The species is native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands (Gran Canaria, Tenerife, El Hierro and La Palma).<ref name="International2002" /> It is a subtropical pine and does not tolerate low temperatures or hard frost, surviving temperatures down to about Template:Convert. Within its natural area, it grows under extremely variable rainfall regimes, from less than Template:Convert to several thousands, mostly due to differences in mist-capturing by the foliage. Under warm conditions, this is one of the most drought-tolerant pines, living even with less than Template:Cvt of rainfall per year.

The native range has been somewhat reduced due to over-cutting so that only the islands of Tenerife, La Palma, and Gran Canaria still have large forests, with extensive replanting of deforested areas since 1940.<ref name=Ashmole>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Really big trees are rare due to past over-cutting.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> It is the tallest tree in the Canary Islands, with the tallest specimen, 'Pino de las Dos Pernadas' near Vilaflor on Tenerife, being 56.7 m tall.<ref name=MT2>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fossil record

Fossils of Pinus canariensis have been described from the fossil flora of Kızılcahamam district in Turkey which is of early Pliocene age.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Fossil cones including seeds of Pinus canariensis are known from the late Miocene of Abkhazia, from the Vienna Basin and the Canary Islands. Numerous cone casts including seeds of Pinus canariensis from the early Pleistocene, were recovered on Kallithea, Rhodes.<ref>Fossil seed cones of Pinus L. (Sect. Pinus, subsect. Pinaster LOUDON, Sula group) from the late Neogene and early Pleistocene of Europe, Palaeontographica, Abteilung B: Palaeobotany, Palaeophytology Article Vol. 291, Issues 1–6: 131–164, September 2014 E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany - DOI:10.1127/palb/291/1994/131 by Zlatko Kvacek, Vasilis Teodoridi, Petr Mazouch and Paul Roiron</ref>

Ecology

This pine is one of the most fire-resistant conifers in the world, due to several beneficial adaptations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In particular, Pinus canariensis is one of the few pine species that can epicormically resprout after losing its needles in a fire.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Uses

The tree's long needles make a significant contribution to the islands' water supply, trapping large amounts of cloud droplets as fog drip. This comes from the moist air coming off the Atlantic with the prevailing north eastern wind (locally called "alisios" or "tiempo norte"); the fog drip measured under trees can be up to 20 times the rainfall measured in the open away from trees at the same site. The condensation after dropping to the ground is quickly absorbed by the soil, and percolates down to the underground aquifers.<ref name=Ashmole/>Template:Rp

The aromatic wood, especially the heartwood, is among the finest of pine woods, being hard, strong and durable.<ref name=handbook>Template:Cite book</ref> The wood of the Canary island pine is now becoming popular as a tonewood for soundboards for guitars and other string instruments. The aromatic heartwood (locally called "tea") is also traditionally used in La Palma for making wine aging containers called pipas.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Pinus canariensis is a popular ornamental tree in warmer climates, such as in private gardens, public landscapes, and as street trees. In mainland Spain, South Africa, Sicily, Australia, and California, it has become a naturalised species from original landscape uses.

In culture

It is the vegetable symbol of the island of La Palma.<ref>Template:Cite act</ref>

See also

References

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