Pinus mugo

Pinus mugo, known as dwarf mountain pine,<ref name=BSBI07>Template:BSBI 2007</ref> mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine,<ref name=GRIN>Template:GRIN</ref> bog pine, creeping pine,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or mugo pine,<ref>Template:PLANTS</ref> is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Southeast Europe.

Description

The tree has dark green leaves ("needles") in pairs, Template:Convert long.

The cones are nut-brown, Template:Convert long.

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  Pinus mugo subsp. mugo, Romania
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  Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata
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  Pinus mugo subsp. rotundata, Swiss National Park
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  On Jakupica mountain, Republic of North Macedonia

Taxonomy

There are three subspecies:<ref>Christensen, K.I. (1987). Taxonomic revision of the Pinus mugo complex and P. × rhaetica (P. mugo × sylvestris) (Pinaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany. 7: 383–408.</ref>

• Pinus mugo subsp. mugo — in the east and south of the range (southern & eastern Alps, Balkan Peninsula), a low, shrubby, often multi-stemmed plant to Template:Convert tall with matt-textured symmetrical cones, which are thin-scaled.
• Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata — in the west and north of the range (from the Pyrenees northeast to Poland), a larger, usually single-stemmed tree to Template:Convert tall with glossy-textured asymmetrical cones, the scales of which are much thicker on the upper side.

  Some botanists treat the western subspecies as a separate species, Pinus uncinata, others as only a variety, P. mugo var. rostrata. This subspecies in the Pyrenees marks the alpine tree line or timberline, the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing.

• Pinus mugo subsp. rotundata — hybrid subspecies, of the two subspecies above that intergrade extensively in the western Alps and northern Carpathians.

An old name for the species, Template:Lang, is still occasionally seen, and a typographical error "mugho" (first made in a prominent 18th-century encyclopedia) is still often repeated.Template:Citation needed

Distribution

Pinus mugo is native to the subalpine zones of the Pyrenees, Alps, Ore Mountains, Carpathians, northern and central Apennines, and higher Balkan Peninsula mountainsTemplate:SndRila, Pirin, Korab, Accursed Mountains, etc. It is usually found from Template:Convert, occasionally as low as Template:Convert in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high as Template:Convert in the south of the range in Bulgaria and the Pyrenees. Also in Kosovo it is found in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park.Template:Citation needed

In Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic region, P. mugo was introduced in the late 1700s and the 1800s, when it was planted in coastal regions for sand dune stabilization, and later as ornamental plants around residences. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the species has naturalised and become invasive, displacing fragile dune and dune heath habitats. In Estonia and Lithuania P. mugo only occasionally naturalises outside plantations, sometimes establishing in raised bogs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ecology

Pinus mugo is classed as a wilding conifer, and spreads as an invasive species in the high country of New Zealand,Template:Citation needed coastal Denmark, and other areas of Scandinavia.

Cultivation

Pinus mugo is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a small tree or shrub, planted in gardens and in larger pots and planters. It is also used in Japanese garden style landscapes, and for larger bonsai specimens. In Kosovo, its trunk is used as construction material for the vernacular architecture in the mountains called "Bosonica".Template:Citation needed

Cultivars

Numerous cultivars have been selected. The following have been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

• 'Humpy'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 'Kissen'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 'Mops'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 'Ophir'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Cultivars with seasonal changes in foliage color include Pinus mugo 'Wintergold' and Pinus mugo 'Ophir'.

Uses

The mugo pine is used in cooking. The cones can be made into a syrup called "pinecone syrup",<ref name="Piccolo">Template:Cite web</ref> "pine cone syrup",<ref name="Colicchio">Template:Cite web</ref> or mugolio. Buds and young cones are harvested from the wild in the spring and left to dry in the sun over the summer and into autumn. The cones and buds gradually drip syrup, which is then boiled down to a concentrate and combined with sugar.<ref name="Zing">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Alternatively, the pinecones can be macerated in sugar, fermented, and strained.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Gallery

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  Pinus mugo (subsp. mugo) habitat. Rila National Park in Bulgaria.
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  Female cones and young shoots
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  Male pollen producing strobili
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  Young cones

See also

• Pinus × rhaetica

Sources

• Christensen, K.I. (1987). Taxonomic revision of the Pinus mugo complex and P. × rhaetica (P. mugo × sylvestris) (Pinaceae). Nordic J. Bot. 7: 383–408.

External links

• Gymnosperm Database - Pinus mugo
• Arboretum de Villadebelle - photos of cones (scroll down page)
• Pinus mugo and Pinus uncinata - information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)
• Template:PFAF