Pinus kesiya
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Pinus kesiya (Khasi pine or Benguet pine) is one of the most widely distributed pines in southeast Asia. Its range extends south and east from the Khasi Hills in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya, to Burma, northern Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, southernmost China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It is an important plantation species elsewhere in the world, including in southern Africa and South America.<ref name=vietnam>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=icnaf>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The common name "Khasi pine" is from the Khasi hills in India, and "Benguet pine" is from the landlocked province of Benguet in Luzon, Philippines, where it is the dominant species of the Luzon tropical pine forests (known as saleng in Ilocano<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>). The Benguet pine is sometimes treated as a separate species, Pinus insularis; however, the current opinion is to treat this as conspecific with P. kesiya var. langbianensis.<ref name = powo/> The city of Baguio is nicknamed "The City of Pines", as it is noted for large stands of this tree.
Description
Pinus kesiya is a tree reaching up to Template:Convert tall with a straight, cylindrical trunk. The bark is thick, dark brown, and scaly with deep longitudinal fissures. The branches are robust, red brown from the second year, the branchlets horizontal to upcurved. The leaves are needle-like, dark green, usually three per fascicle, Template:Convert long, the fascicle sheath Template:Convert long and persistent. The cones are ovoid, Template:Convert long, often curved downwards, sometimes slightly oblique; the scales of second-year cones are dense, the umbo a little convex, with a small prickle. The scales have transverse and longitudinal ridges across the middle of the scale surface. The seeds are winged, Template:Convert long with a 1.5–2.5 cm wing. Pollination occurs in mid-spring, with the cones maturing 18–24 months after.<ref name="GD">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Khasi pine usually grows in pure stands or mixed with broad-leaved trees.<ref name="GD"/>
Taxonomy
Pinus kesiya is a member of the largely Eurasian nominate group Pinus subgenus Pinus, section Pinus, distinguished by the cone umbo having an offset prickle on the umbo.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Two varieties are accepted by the Plants of the World Online database:<ref name = powo/>
- Pinus kesiya var. kesiya
- Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis Template:Small
They are only minimally distinct, with var. langbianensis cited as having on average shorter needles 12–16 cm long as opposed to 12–20 cm in var. kesiya;<ref name="GD"/> not all authors consider them distinct, treating the species as monotypic.<ref name="Businský2008">Template:Cite book</ref>
Uses
The soft and light timber of Pinus kesiya can be used for a wide range of applications, including boxes, paper pulp, and temporary electric poles. It is intensely used for timber, both sourced in natural forests and plantations.<ref name=vietnam/><ref name=icnaf/>
The good-quality resin is not abundant and has not been much used except during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines for the production of turpentine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Clear left