Plant Indices
- Alphabetical Index (Genera)
- Alphabetical Index (Vernacular)
- Cladistic Index
PINE (Pinus)
ᚘ; ᚐ
Family: Pinaceae
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Pinus densiflora, Kumgangsan, North Korea.
From yeowatzup (defunct) at Flickr. |
- Mapudungun: Pehuen
- Romani: Till
- Chinese: Kong, Song, Sōng Shù
- Japanese: Akamatsu, Fu, Furetto, Furu, Kuromatsu, Manshu-goyo, Matsu, Seki, Shōhaku
- Korean: Jalguni, Pyeong-song, Weki-Song
- Russian: Sosna
- Ukrainian: Sosna
- Hindi: Deodar
- Kashmiri: Gul
- Vietnamese: Chan, Thông
- Armenian: Gurgen
- Turkish: Bor, Çam, Köknar
- Czech: Borovice
- German: Kiefer
- Hungarian: Fenyő
- LINGUA IGNOTA: Gimeldia
- Polish: Sosna
- Slovak: Borovica
- Albanian: Pini
- Croatian: Borovnica
- Estonian: Harilik Mänd, Mänd
- Latvian: Boru
- Lithuanian: Pušis
- Romanian: Pinu
- Serbian: Beli Bor
- Slovenian: Kozolec
- Danish: Furutræ
- Finnish: Mänty
- Swedish: Tall
- Asturian: Pinyu
- Galician: Pión
- Greek: Peuke
- Italian: Pino
- Portuguese: Pinho
- Spanish: Gran, Pino
- English: Pine
- French: Arolla, Grenadier, Pain, Pin, Sapin
Native to:
- Africa, Northern: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
- America, North: Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Labrador, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon), Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, United States (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
- Asia, Central: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia (Altay, Tuva), Xinjiang
- Asia, East: China, Japan, Korea, Russia (Amur, Buryatiya, Chita, Irkutsk, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kuril Islands, Magadan, Primorye, Sakhalin, Yakutiya), Taiwan
- Asia, South: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India (Assam), Nepal, Pakistan
- Asia, Southeast: Cambodia, Indonesia (Sumatra), Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam
- Asia, Western: Cyprus, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey
- Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
- Europe, Eastern: Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Russia, Ukraine
- Europe, Northern: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
- Europe, Southern: Corsica, Greece (Crete, East Aegean Islands), Italy (Sardinia, Sicily), Portugal, Spain (Baleares, Canary Islands)
- Europe, Western: Belgium, England, France, Ireland, Scotland
Introduced to:
- Africa, Eastern: Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion
- Africa, Southern: Lesotho, South Africa (Free State, Northern Provinces)
- Africa, Western: Gambia
- America, South: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay
- Asia, East: Japan (Ogasawara Islands)
- Europe, Northern: Faroe Islands, Iceland
- Europe, Southern: Portugal (Azores, Madeira)
- Oceania: Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia), Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands
- Remote Islands: Ascension, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha, Tubuai Islands
- United States Territories: Hawaii
Pinus is a genus of resinous evergreen trees (and occasional shrubs) growing 3-80m (10-260ft) tall, with most between 15-45m (50-150ft). Pines typically live between 100-1,000 years. Depending on the species, the bark is generally thick and scaly, though occasionally thin and flaky. Branches are generally produced in a tight spiral around the trunk, with most trees producing one such whorl a year, though some are multinodal, producing two a year.
Pine wood is soft and not resistant to insects or decay, so it is recommended only for indoor use.
Pine leaves develop four distinct shapes throughout their lives, with the mature leaves being clustered needles. The shed needles are acidic, curbing the growth of other hardwoods where they fall and decompose.
Bark Properties: Edible, source of resin.
Wood Properties: Soft.
Victorian Flower Language
According to Greenaway, pine is an emblem of pity.
Immortality
In Japanese and Chinese art and poetry, the pine is a device that leans on the tree's longevity and steadfastness (in reference to its evergreen nature). In the Chinese context, it is paired with the cypress or the plum and bamboo in the "three friends of winter" motif. It is also paired with the mushroom, stork, and white stag for the same reason.
In Western thought, it was tied to fertility and rebirth. The Greeks and Romans tied it to Cybele, Zeus, and Dionysus.
Incorruptibility
It shared this association with the Cedar in Oriental thought, hence why it was planted around Chinese graves. According to Tresidder, the mushrooms that the Taoist immortals dined on were fed on pine resin.
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Crane and Pine Tree with Rising Sun
, by Suzuki Kiitsu, early 19th century.
Image taken from Kathy Clark blog. |
Courage
An emblem of courage and resolve in Japanese thought.
Humility
In modern flower language, the pine is a symbol of humility.
Fidelity
The motif of two pine trees in Chinese and Japanese art signified marital fidelity. This fidelity between lovers is paralleled in Roman tradition, with a tale of a youth and a maid who died of grief when their love for one another was thwarted. One changed into a pine and the other into a vine, growing in each other's embrace for centuries.
The "three friends of winter" motif represents friendship in adversity, as the characters endure winter together without losing their summer colors.
Fortune
An emblem of good fortune in Shinto.
Masculinity
The pine cone was an obvious phallic symbol in ancient times, tying it to the fertilizing shaping force. Dionysus's rod was tipped with a pine cone, making the phallic symbolism more obvious. Surmounting a column, it was an erect symbol of Marduk in Mesopotamia.
Also thought to resemble a flame, another manifestation of the shaping force. This likely ties into its association with Zeus, who wields lightning (a fiery phallic icon).
Strength
According to Skinner, the Romans ate the cones, holding that they imparted the consumer with strength.
Music
In Greek myth, the pine was the mistress of Boreas, the god of wind, and Pan's lover.
Guilt
It was tied to feelings of guilt by British homeopath Edward Bach in the 1930s (whether this association is older is unclear to this compiler).
Loyalty
Skinner relays a Japanese folktale of a man and his dog. His dog dug up a measure of gold on his property. His neighbor, desiring a similar fortune, asked to borrow the dog to do the same for him. When the dog only dug up filth for him, the neighbor killed the dog in a jealous rage and buried it beneath a nearby pine tree, wherein the dog's spirit persisted
The pine tree grew to a respectable size and was the first man-made mortar of some of the wood from this pine tree. This mortar seemed to afford the man an endless supply of barley, and he never went hungry. The wicked neighbor, desiring some of this endless barley, attempted to grind his grain in the mortar and was met with mold and worms. He dashed the mortar to pieces and burned it.
The first man took the broken, burned mortar pieces and cast them to nearby trees in winter or dead trees, which sprouted into bloom. He won his lord's favor by restoring many of the lord's trees in this way and was rewarded with riches and silks.
The wicked neighbor attempted to follow suit with the mortar's ashes, but their power had fled. As he tried to get the magic to work, the lord passed by, and the wind blew the ashes into the lord's eyes. For this insult and injury, the wicked neighbor was whipped.
Wood
Pine wood is used in indoor construction, furniture, window frames, paneling, floors, and roofing.
Resin
Major ingredient in turpentine.
Tar
Used in tar production in the past and still occasionally in Scandinavia.
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A bottle of turpentine. Image taken from pine-chemicals.com. |
Chinese Ink
One of the major ingredients of Chinese ink is pine soot.
Bullet-Proof
According to Skinner, thieves in Bohemia ate pine cones, believing that it made them proof against all manner of shot. Likely this is a continuation of folk belief dating back to ancient Rome, as supposedly Legionaries ate pine cones for similar reasons.
Mother of Nymphs
In Germanic folk tradition that the pine tree bore children, every hole and knot in the trunk of a pine marks the place from which a sprite or nymph was born.
Occasionally, these nymphs became human women, as in Smaland, Sweden, where such a wood nymph lived as a human for many years. The only signs of her inhuman origin were her height, the brilliance of her beauty, and her lulling voice. Eventually, she was enchanted by the music of the outer spheres, returned to her shape as a tiny elf, and left her home of decades for good.
Ogham
In the Celtic Ogham script, the pine is referred to by the ifín rune (ᚘ; [ia] and [p/pe] sounds; two pairs of downward diagonals overlapping in an X), and less often by the ailm rune (ᚐ; [a] sound; one short strike).
To the Celts, it was the "sweetest of the woods." Some modern Celtic neopagans associate the pine with guilt (whether this is inspired by homeopath Edward Bach or is tied to an older association is unclear).
We are not a medical website; do not take health advice from us.
Skinner credits the pine with curing:
- Gout
- Cataracts
- Many diseases in livestock
Resin
Pine resin is used in traditional Chinese medicine for:
- Burns
- Wounds
- General skin issues
Pine nuts are edible (usually), as is the bark of young twigs and young male cones.
The soft inner bark is generally edible and contains vitamins A and C. It can be eaten raw, dried, or ground up as a thickener for stews and soups and even as a flour substitute or additive in bread.
Needles may be boiled in a tea.
In Greece, pine resin is used to flavor retsina wine.
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Retsina wine, courtesy of Greek Wine Cellars (formerly Kourtaki Wines). Own work--Nsaa. |
- New spring shoots of the pine tree are called "candles." Exploit.
- Pine trees grow spirally, with branches, needles, and cones arranged according to the Fibonacci number (golden ratio). Exploit.
- The guilt association is symbolically valid for any writer desiring to pursue it, regardless of whether it originates in homeopathy or something older.
- The "three friends of winter" is an excellent motif for storytelling, taking the symbolic features of the pine, plum, and bamboo to inform the character.
- The association of the pine cone and the phallus/fire is worth building upon. The pine cone opens and spreads its seeds. Several spells could be built around throwing a pinecone into a fire (a dangerous thing to do in real life) so that it opens and spreads the spell's "seeds" far and wide. This could be specific messages to a predetermined group of people, such as a wizard calling together many of his old companions, or perhaps it is an instruction to a cadre of bound spirits to pursue the caster's foes to all the corners of the earth. Suppose a malevolent mage has identified a scandal in the court of a political rival. In that case, he might curse the court with exposure via a burning pine cone, coaxing each detail (seed) to fly out and start its own fire, resulting in a cascade of political destruction.
- Likewise, as Gandalf did in Tolkien's The Hobbit, a magician might make magical grenades of pine cones.
- If every hole or knot in a pine indicates the birth or emergence of a fairie, one could reverse engineer the process by entering the knothole of a pine and remerging a fae. This might be possible with special trees large enough to accommodate an adult human, but smaller ones could be used to transform small animals into familiars. More gruesomely, a witch or hag could hack someone apart into pieces for this purpose (possibly even keeping the victim alive during the process). The witch could then sew back on their new fae-flesh until eventually they are entirely reanimated as something inhuman. This might also be rendered more expedient by performing the ritual on select organs, such as the heart).
- Bohemian thieves likely believed the pinecone protected them from being shot under two lines of reasoning. In the case of a closed pinecone, the object is already holding shot, thus sympathetically holding shot in the pursuer's firearm. In the case of an open pinecone, it has already expended its shot.
Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis)
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Grove of Aleppo pines, Pinet, Hérault, France. Own work--Christian Ferrer. |
- Turkish: Çam, Halep Çamı, Yerusalim Çami
- German: Aleppokiefer
- Polish: Sosna Alepska
- Croatian: Beli Bor, Bor Halepski
- Italian: Pino d'Aleppo
- Spanish: Carrasco, Pino Carrasco
- English: Aleppo Pine, Jerusalem Pine, Mediterranean Pine, White Pine
- French: Pin Blanc, Pin d'Alep
- Africa, Northern: Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
- Asia, West: Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey
- Europe, Southern: Albania, Greece, Italy (including Sardinia, Sicily), Spain (including Balearic Islands)
- Europe, Western: France (including Corsica)
Aleppo pine is a medium evergreen tree growing 15-25m (49-82ft) tall, with a trunk up to 0.6m (2ft) in diameter, with exceptional specimens reaching 1m (3.2ft) in diameter. Grows at low altitudes, favoring sea level to 200m (660ft), occurring up to and above 1,000m (3,300ft) in Spain, Crete, and even up to 1,700m (5,600ft) in the southern end of the range in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
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Pinus halepensis cones. Own work (presumed)--MPF. |
Retsina
The Greeks used Aleppo pine resin in the production of retsina wine.
Dessert
Pine nuts are used to produce a Tunisian pudding called asidet zgougou, which is served with cream and topped with almonds and small candies.
In Malta, it is made into a desert called prinjolata, employed as a filling and topping.
- Retained for names and distribution.
Amami Pine (Pinus amamiana)
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Pinus amamiana. No photographer listed, American Conifer Society. |
- Japanese: Amami-goyo, Amami-Goyomatsu, Yakushima-goyo, Yakutane-Goyomatsu
- English: Amami Pine, Kerama Pine, Yakushima Pine, Yakushima White Pine
- Asia, East: Japan (including Nansei-shoto)
Amamai pine is a small evergreen tree that grows up to 25m (82ft) tall and 1m (3.2ft) in diameter.
- Retained for name and distribution
Balkan Pine (Pinus peuce)
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Pinus peuce, Maliocitsa, Rila Mountains, Bulgaria.
Cropped by Galliano from photo by Stelian Kasabov . |
- German: Balkankiefer, Makedonische Kiefer
- Albanian: Molikë
- Bulgarian: Molikata
- Macedonian: Molika
- Serbian: Balkanskom Bor
- Ancient Greek: Peuce
- English: Balkan Pine, Macedonian Pine, Rumelian Pine, Serbian Pine
- French: Pin De Macédoine, Pin De Peuce
- Europe, Southern: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia
Balkan pine is a large evergreen tree growing 35-40m (115-131ft) tall and 1.5m (4.9ft) in diameter. Its size diminishes with altitude, and the smallest specimens are little more than shrubs.
The wood is durable and wind-resistant, and the tree tolerates severe winter colds below -45 °C.
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Pinus peuce cones. Cultivated, Finland.
From vanikat on Flickr . |
Timber
Favored in its native range for construction, furniture production, wood-carving, and for making casks and barrels (cooperage).
- Retained for name and distribution.
Bhutan Pine (Pinus bhutanica)
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Pinus bhutanica. No identified photographer. |
- Chinese: Budan Song, Qiao Song
- Bhutanese: Tongshi
- Hindi: Kail
- English: Bhutan Pine, Bhutan White Pine, Bhutanese Pine, Bhutanese White Pine, Himalayan White Pine, Thimphu Pine
- Asia, East: China (China South-Central)
- Asia, South: India (East Himalaya)
- Asia, Central: Tibet
Bhutan white pine is a small evergreen tree up to 25m (82ft) tall.
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Pinus bhutanica pine cone from the K. Rushford collection. From Michael P Frankis. |
- Retained for name and distribution.
Black Pine (Pinus nigra)
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Pinus nigra, Świerklaniec, Poland. Own work--Przykuta. |
- Turkish: Kara Çam
- German: Österreichische Schwarzkiefer, Schwarzkiefer
- Norwegian: Svartfuru
- Swedish: Svarttall
- Italian: Pino Laricio, Pino Nero
- Dutch: Zwarte Den
- English: Austrian Pine, Black Pine, Córsican Pine, European Black Pine
- French: Pin Noir, Pin Noir D'autriche
- Africa, Northern: Algeria, Morocco
- Asia, Northern: Russia (Krym, North Caucasus)
- Asia, West: Cyprus, Turkey
- Europe, Central: Austria
- Europe, Eastern: Bulgaria, Romania
- Europe, Southern: Albania, Greece, Italy (including Corsica), North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain
- Europe, Western: France
Biome: Alpine.
Black pine is a large evergreen tree that grows 20-55m (66-180ft) tall and has an expected altitude range of 250-1,600m (820-5,200ft).
The bark is grey to yellow-brown and widely split into scaly plates with flakey fissures. It is shade-intolerant but resistant to snow, ice, and drought. It is associated with Scots pine, Serbian spruce, Bosnian pine, Norway spruce, Taurus cedar, silver fir, and several species of juniper.
It is intolerant of shade. Resists wind and drought. It is incredibly cold hardy, known for surviving below −30 °C (though the western P. nigra salzmanni subspecies is only hardy to −25 °C).
This species is highly diverse because of its wide range. Different strains are known for being better adapted to various soil types.
Due to its faster growth rate, Scots pine wood is moderately hard, straight-grained, rougher, and softer than Scots pine.
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Pine cone. Own work--Dezidor. |
Victorian Flower Language
In Victorian and modern flower language, it is a symbol of boldness. Alternately, it may be employed as an emblem of pity.
Timber
Used for general construction, fuel, and paper.
We are not a medical website; do not take health advice from us.
In Turkey, this pine was and is still used in folk medicine for men and livestock, both topically and internally. It is used for:
- Acne
- Common cold
- Infection of the bone
- Viral infection
- Oral antiseptic
- Cracked hands and feet (winter dryness)
- Retained for names and distribution.
Canary Island Pine (Pinus canariensis)
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Pinus canariensis forest, peak of Las Nieves, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. Own work--Pepelopex. |
- German: Kanarische Kiefer
- Spanish: Pino Canario, Pino De Canarias
- English: Canarian Pine, Canary Island Pine, Canary Pine
- French: Pin Canarien, Pin des Canaries
- Europe, Southern: Spain (Canary Islands)
The Canary Island pine is a large evergreen tree that grows up to 30-40m (98-131ft) in height and only about 1-1.2m (3-4 ft) in diameter, with exceptional examples being 60m (200ft) tall and 2.6m (8ft+) in diameter.
The tree's wood is aromatic, strong, and complex. That, along with the wood's durability makes it one of the most prized pine woods.
The tree's long needles trap water evaporating off the Atlantic Ocean, catching most of the islands' water supply from the air and dripping into the groundwater supply.
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Mature male cones, Peese de Las niñas. Own work--Santamarcanda. |
- Originally retained for name and distribution.
- Relationship to the water cycle is worth exploiting. If one is writing a fantasy story in an environment similar to the Canary Islands, the locals might venerate the trees as bringers of fresh water.
Chinese Lacebark Pine (Pinus bungeana)
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Lacebark Pine of Susong-dong, South Korea Natural Monument No.9. Own work--Integral. |
- Chinese: Bai Pi Song, Baihuasong
- Korean: Baeksong
- German: Bunges Kiefer
- English: Bunge's Pine, Chinese Lacebark Pine, Chinese Whitebark Pine, Lacebark Pine, Whitebark Chinese Pine, Whitebark Pine
- French: Pin à Écorce Blanche, Pin de Bunge
- Asia, East: China (China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia)
Biome: Alpine and temperate; prefers limestone and south-facing slopes
Chinese lacebark pine is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree at 15-25m (49-82ft) in height. Grows at 500-2,150m (1,640-7,050ft). It is frost-hardy below -26 Celsius (-15 Fahrenheit). Its bark is smooth and grey-green, shedding in round scales. When the round scales fall off, they reveal pale yellow patches that turn olive-brown, red, and purple when exposed to light. The lacy patterns in the bark have been described as looking metallic.
This pine can either be monopodial, growing upward in a single trunk, or sympodial (forked).
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Pinus bungeana at Kew Gardens, London, England. Own work--Somepics. |
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Closeup of the bark of the Kew Gardens specimen. Own work--Somepics. |
Immortality
Symbolizes longevity in Chinese gardens.
Funerary
A popular tree planted around temples and cemeteries in China and Korea.
We are not a medical website, do not take health advice from us.
Respiratory Issues
The seeds are consumed in traditional Chinese medicine because they relieve respiratory issues.
- The tree's bark brings to mind fluid metal, like [mercury]. This might work even better than the Chinese white pine as a source of alchemical immortality resin, already resembling immortal metal.
- Alternately, the bark could be interpreted as looking like roughly hammered metal. This invites a just-so story about a smith god participating in creating trees by making a self-hammering metal that sheds its own scales.
- An alchemist inspired by Western tradition might encounter this tree and use it as a model for the alchemical tree of metals.
- The lacebark's resemblance to hammered metal could have further alchemical connotations. The iconic tree grows the Philosopher's Stone as a cone, assuming it is the hypostasis of nature and artifice.
- As the tree continually produces and discards bark scale, it could be interpreted as an emblem of continual self-improvement.
Chinese White Pine (Pinus armandii)
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Pinus armandii, Munming Botanical Garden, Kunking, Yunnan, China. Own work--Daderot. |
- Chinese: Màosōng, Nan Song, Xue Song, Ya Bai Song
- Japanese: Daimatsu
- German: Armands Kiefer
- English: Armand's Pine, Chinese White Pine, David's Pine, Huashan Pine, Mount Hua Pine, Stone Pine, Tibet Longleaf Pine
- French: Armandi Pin
- Asia, East: China (China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia), Taiwan
- Asia, Southeast: Myanmar
- Asia, Central: Tibet
Chinese white pine is a medium-sized evergreen tree that can grow to 35m (115ft) tall and have a trunk up to 1m (3.2ft) in diameter.
Immortality
Chinese emblem of longevity and immortality. The resin is regarded as the tree's soul-stuff, as blood is for humans and animals. The Chinese god of longevity, Shouxing, is often depicted standing at the foot of a pine with red-crested cranes in the branches.
Immortality
Taoists seeking immortality are recorded as consuming large quantities of pine resin to prolong their lives.
Raw nuts appear to cause "pine mouth syndrome" in some consumers, which is the experience of a bitter, metallic taste in the mouth 1-3 days after ingesting, which is strongest on the second day and may persist for up to 2 weeks. This self-resolves.
The nuts are edible.
- If writing about Chinese-inspired alchemists, one could easily take creative liberties and make pine mouth syndrome a good sign for such alchemists, indicating successful alchemical action on the body. In this, the metallic taste could be interpreted as the development of [mercury] within the body, a vital ingredient of the elixir of immortality.
- From the above, pine mouth syndrome might presage mad-hatter syndrome or a similar alchemical madness.
Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii)
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Pinus roxburghii, Uttarakhand, India.
From Treesftf at Flickr . |
- Bhutanese: Thansa
- Hindi: Barmian Kail, Chir, Kail, Saral, Thakil
- Nepali: Dhup, Khote Salla, Lekali Salla, Rani Salla, Salla
- English: Chir Pine, East Himalayan Pine, Indian Longleaf Pine, Longifolia Pine, Longleaf Indian Pine, Roxburgh's Pine, Three-Needled Pine
- Asia, South: Bangladesh, India (East Himalaya), Nepal, Pakistan
- Asia, Central: Tibet
Biome: Alpine
Chir pine is a large evergreen tree that grows 30-50 m (98-164ft) tall and up to 2m (6.5ft) in diameter. Its bark is red-brown, thick, and deeply fissured.
It occurs at lower altitudes in the Himalayas than other pines, 500-2,000m (1,600-6,600ft), occasionally 2,300m (7,500ft).
Pine needle mats create poor growing conditions for other plants. Rhododendrons, the Banj Oak, and trees from the Heather family (Ericaceae) can tolerate chir pine's toxic needle mats.
Bark Properties: Carvable, burns
Wood Properties: Weak, rot-sensitive, resinous, highly flammable.
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Male cones of Pinus roxburghii. Own work--Paul venter. |
Timber
Widely used for construction, though, it is the least-favored wood in its native range for this purpose because it is the least resilient and weakest wood that can still be used for these purposes.
Bark
The bark is useful because it comes off in flat patches that are easy to carve into valuable items like pot lids and for fuel.
Blacksmithing
Supposedly, blacksmiths in the native range of this tree fuel their furnaces exclusively with chir bark.
Jhukti
Jhukti wood is wood from a chir tree that has died by fire or drought. Under these circumstances, the resin in the heartwood crystalizes, producing a glassy wood that is easy to ignite and never gets waterlogged. A small piece can burn for quite a long time, making it ideal for starting fires or even personal lighting.
Resin
Tapped commercially for resin in turpentine and non-volatile rosin (in proportions of 75% to 22% during distillation, with 3% loss).
Rosin
Chir rosin is used in:
- Soap
- Cosmetics
- Paint
- Varnish
- Rubber
- Polish
- Linoleum
- Explosives
- Insecticides
- Disinfectants
- Soldering flux
- Brewing
- Explore the combination of characters that might come from the associations between the Chir Pine, the Banj Oak, Rhododendron, and Heather-family plants.
- The relationship between smithing and chir bark is worth exploring. That might make it a useful reagent in enchantment and crafting.
- Jhukti would be a valuable trade good. It might even have developed magical properties (benefic or malefic) depending on the fire's circumstances, changing the flame's character or light produced.
Cluster Pine (Pinus pinaster)
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A stand of Pinus pinaster. From treeseedonline.com. |
- German: Seekiefer
- Finnish: Tähtioksamänty
- Norwegian: Strandgran
- Italian: Corbezzolo, Pino Marittimo
- Portuguese: Pinheiro-Bravo
- Spanish: Pino Gallego, Pino Resinero, Pino Rodeno
- Dutch: Strandden, Zeeden, Zeestrandden
- English: Chir Pine, Cluster Pine, Maritime Pine
- French: Pin Des Landes, Pin Maritime, Pin Mésogéen
- Africa, Northern: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
- Europe, Southern: Italy (including Sardinia, Sicily), Portugal, Spain (including Balearic Islands)
- Europe, Western: France (including Corsica)
Cluster pine is a medium evergreen tree that grows 20-35m (66-115ft) tall, with a 1.2m (4ft) diameter trunk. Exceptional specimens are 1.8m (6ft) in diameter. It grows at low altitudes, favoring sea level to 600m (0-2,000ft), but may be found up to 2,000m (6,600ft) at the southern range in Morocco.
The bark is orange-red and deeply fissured.
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Bark of Pinus pinaster. Own work--Jean Pol GRANDMONT. |
- Retained for name and distribution.
Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii)
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Pinus thunbergii, location and photographer unclear.
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- Chinese: Hēisōng
- Japanese: Chikumatsu, Kuro Matsu, Kuromatsu, Omatsu, Onnomatsu
- Korean: Gobansho, Gomsol, Haesonamu, Thumsong, Wonsongsong
- English: Japanese Black Pine, Thunberg's Pine
- Asia, East: Japan, Korea
Japanese black pine is a large evergreen tree that can reach heights of 40m (130ft) but rarely reach this size outside its native range. The bark is grey on young trees and small branches, changing to a black color and plated texture as the tree or branch ages.
The tree is resistant both to pollution and salt.
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| Male cones, location and photographer unclear. |
Gardening
Popular in Japan as a trained garden tree (Niwaki), a classic bonsai subject. Japanese black pine, unlike other pines, can be induced into a second flush of new growth in a single growing season.
- Resistant to salt. Exploit.
- Second flush in bonsai gardening is unique. Exploit.
Japanese Red Pine (Pinus densiflora)
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Pinus densiflora. Own work--Mochi. |
- Chinese: Chì sōng
- Japanese: Akamatsu, Meomatsu, Nise Akamatsu
- Korean: Sonamu
- German: Rote Kiefer
- English: Japanese Pine, Japanese Red Pine, Korean Pine, Korean Red Pine, Red Pine
- French: Pin Rouge du Japon
- Asia, East: Japan, Korea
- Asia, Northern: Russia (Primorye)
Japanese red pine is a medium evergreen tree that grows 20–35m (66–115ft) tall. Wood is wind-resistant, anti-corrosive (as it favors acidic soils), and has strong anti-mildew properties.
Wood Properties: Wind-resistant, anti-corrosive, anti-mildew.
Support
The trunks are wind-resistant and ideal for construction, as well as electric poles, sleepers, pillars, and furniture.
Resin
The resin is harvested for rosin and turpentine distillation.
- Retained for names and distribution.
Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo)
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Pinus mugo forest, Graubünden, Switzerland. Own work--Hansueli Krapf (Simisa). |
- Czech: Kleč
- German: Alpen-Bergkiefer, Bergfohre, Latsche, Latschenkiefer, Legföhre, Zwergkiefer
- Polish: Kosodrzewina
- Croatian: Borovac
- Slovene: Gež
- Norwegian: Arve, Bergfuru
- Swedish: Bergtall
- Italian: Pino Mugo
- Dutch: Bergden
- English: Bog Pine, Creeping Pine, Dwarf Mountain Pine, Dwarf Pine, European Mountain Pine, Krummholz, Mountain Pine, Mugho Pine, Mugo Pine, Scrub Mountain Pine, Swiss Mountain Pine
- French: Pin De Montagne, Pin Mugo
- Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
- Europe, Eastern: Romania, Ukraine
- Europe, Southern: Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia
Mugo pine is an evergreen shrub or small tree that grows 3-20m (10-66ft) tall. It typically grows from 1,000-2,200m (3,300-7,200ft). The shrubby form between 3-6m (10-20ft) is usually multi-stemmed, with the taller specimens being single-stemmed.
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Young cones. Own work--Queryzo. |
When left out to dry over the summer and autumn, young cones and buds drip edible syrup. This pinecone syrup, or mugolio, is used in cooking or may be boiled down to concentrate and mixed with sugar. The pinecones can also be macerated with sugar, fermented, and then strained.
- Retained for names and distribution.
Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)
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Pinus sylvestris, Tärnättholmarna Presque-isle, Skuleskogen, Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. Own work--Mickaël Delcey (Silverkey) |
- Czech: Borovice Lesní
- German: Föhre, Gemeine Kiefer, Kiefer, Rottanne, Waldkiefer
- Polish: Sosna, Sosna Zwyczajna
- Estonian: Mänd
- Latvian: Dvīņu Priede
- Lithuanian: Paprastoji Pušis
- Romanian: Pinu Silvestru
- Danish: Almindelig Fyr
- Finnish: Männy, Mänty
- Norwegian: Fura, Furu
- Swedish: Gul Tall, Tall
- Italian: Pino Rosso, Pino Silvestre
- Spanish: Pino Albar, Pino Royo, Pino Silvestre
- Dutch: Den, Grove Den
- English: Baltic Pine, Common Pine, European Redwood, Northern Pine, Ordinary Pine, Red Deal, Red Pine, Scotch Pine, Scots Pine
- French: Pin Rouge, Pin Sylvestre
Eurasia; the only pine native to Northern Europe
- Asia, Central: Kazakhstan, Mongolia
- Asia, East: China (Inner Mongolia)
- Asia, Northern: Russia (Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, Central European Russia, Chita, East European Russia, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Primorye, South European Russia, Tuva, West Siberia, Yakutskiya)
- Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
- Europe, Eastern: Belarus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine
- Europe, Northern: Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden
- Europe, Southern: Albania, Greece, Italy, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain
- Europe, Western: Belgium, England, France, Ireland, Scotland
Scots pine is the only pine tree native to northern Europe, an evergreen 35m (115ft) tall and 1m (3.2ft) in diameter, with exceptional specimens over 45m (148ft) in height and 1.7m (5.6ft) in diameter. They live 150-300 years, with the oldest specimen in Finland recorded at 760 years old.
Scots pine is mainly found in poor, sandy soils, rocky outcrops, peat bogs, and at the limits of the forest, as it is out-competed by other trees in richer soils.
The young bark is thick, flaky, and orange-red, while the mature bark is gray-brown. The mature tree has a tall, bare trunk section with a round/flat-topped mass of foliage at the top of the plant.
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Pinus sylvestris cones, Bulgaria. By Georgi Kunev, from freeimagesfrombulgaria.com (defunct). |
Deal
Timber is still occasionally called "red deal" or "yellow deal" based on color, in reference to an archaic unit of volume used to measure wood (a board between 12-14 ft, a maritime commodity).
- The wordplay that comes from "deal" is worth exploring, especially expanding it out to other woods. It could be expanded into a vernacular. Explore other obsolete units of measurement.
Stone Pine (Pinus pinea)
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Pinus pinea, Wellington Botanic Gardens, Wellington, New Zealand. Own work--Karora. |
- Turkish: Fistık Çamı
- German: Pinie
- Danish: Pinjetræ
- Italian: Pino Da Pinoli, Pino Domestico, Pinoli
- Portuguese: Cembro Cultivado, Pinha, Pinheiro-Manso
- Spanish: Pino Manso, Pino Piñonero
- Dutch: Pinjeboom, Pinjie
- English: Edible Pine, European Nut Pine, Italian Stone Pine, Mediterranean Stone Pine, Parasol Pine, Stone Pine, Umbrella Pine
- French: Cèdre, Pin Parasol, Pin Pignon
- Asia, West: Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
- Europe, Southern: Albania, Greece (including Crete), Italy (including Sicily), Portugal, Spain (including Balearic Islands)
- Europe, Western: France (including Corsica)
Stone pine is a small evergreen tree usually 12-20m (40-65ft), exceptionally up to 25m (80ft). Young plants appear bushy and globular, growing into an umbrella canopy in middle age and mature into a flat crown over 8m (26ft) in diameter.
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Pinus pinea cone, Fuendetodos, Aragon, Spain.
From S. Rae on Flickr . |
Rome
A symbol of Rome, was planted along the roads of the empire during the Republic period.
Fuel
The resin and empty pine cones can be burned for fuel.
Food
Cultivated for pine nuts.
- Retained for name and distribution.
Swiss Pine (Pinus cembra)
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Pinus cembra, Dachstein, Austria. Own work--Tigerente. |
- Czech: Limbová Borovice
- German: Alpenkiefer, Arbe, Kiefer, Zirbe, Zirbel, Zirbelkiefer, Zirm
- Polish: Kędrzyna
- Romansh: Arbe
- Romanian: Cimbru, Limba
- Italian: Cirmo, Pino Cembro
- English: Arolla Pine, Austrian Stone Pine, Cembra Pine, Cembran Pine, Cembro Pine, European Stone Pine, Russian Cedar, Stone Pine, Swiss Pine, Swiss Stone Pine
- French: Auvier, Cirme, Pin Cembro, Pin des Alpes
- Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
- Europe, Eastern: Romania, Ukraine
- Europe, Southern: Italy
- Europe, Western: France
Biome: Alpine
Swiss pine is a medium-sized evergreen tree that grows 25-35m (82-115ft) tall and has a trunk up to 1.5m (~5ft) in diameter. It grows at altitudes of 1,200-2,300m (3,900-7,500ft). The wood is resistant to fungal diseases.
This is an incredibly slow-growing tree, taking 30 years just to reach 1.3m (4.3ft).
This pine is abundant in the Alps and Carpathians.
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Pinus cembra cones, Val Gardena, South Tyrol. Retouched by Moroder. |
Military Emblem
The cone of this pine was the emblem of the Roman legion stationed at Rhaetia in 15 BC.
Schnapps
The pine cones can be used as a flavorant in gin when sliced.
- Retained for names and distribution.
Turkish Pine (Pinus brutia)
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Pinus brutia, Findikli, Adana Province, Turkey.
From Vince Smith at Flickr . |
- Turkish: Bodur Çam, Çam, Kızılçam
- German: Kalabrische Kiefer
- Italian: Pino Brutia, Pino D'aleppo
- English: Aegean Pine, Aleppo Pine, Brutia Pine, Calabrian Pine, Chir Pine, East Mediterranean Pine, Mediterranean Pine, Turkish Pine, Turkish Red Pine
- French: Pin Brutia, Pin de Calabre, Pin Rouge
- Asia, Northern: Russia (Krym, North Caucasus)
- Asia, West: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
- Europe, Eastern: Bulgaria, Ukraine
- Europe, Southern: Greece
Turkish pine is a medium-sized evergreen tree that grows 20-35m (66-115ft) tall, with a trunk diameter of 1m and exceptionally up to 2m (3.2-6.5ft). Grows at low altitudes from sea level to 600m (2,000ft) and up to 1,200m (3,900ft) at the southern end of its range.
The bark is orange-red, thick, and deeply fissured at the base, with the bark near the top of the plant being thin and flaky.
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Mature female cone, Argaka, Cyprus.
From S. Rae at Flickr . |
Pine Honey
Bees collect honeydew from aphids on this tree, producing a richly flavored "pine honey" (Turkish, çam balı), which supposedly has medical benefits.
- Retained for name and distribution.
- Pine honey from these trees would be a good reference point for foreign luxury.
* * * * * * *
Prestigious Plants
- Plants
- Flowers
- Trees
- Ferns
- Moss and Lichen [Pending]
- Fungi [Pending]
- Cladistic Index
- Herbal Medicine [Pending]
- Resin, Incense, Balsam, and Lacquer [Pending]
Other Gymnosperms
[Img 01 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_densiflora_Kumgangsan.jpg]
[Img 02 - https://vamosarema.com/]
[Img 03 - https://www.pine-chemicals.com/blog/a-guide-to-turpentine]
-Drury, N. (2004). The dictionary of the esoteric: 3000 entries on the mystical and occult traditions. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.
-Drury, N. (2005). The Watkins Dictionary of Magic: 3000 entries on the magical traditions. Watkins.
-Greenaway, Kate. Language of Flowers. George Routleage and Sons.
-Higley, Sarah L. (2007). Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion. Palgrave Macmillan.
-Skinner, Charles M. "Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits, and Plants : In All Ages and in All Climes : Skinner, Charles M. (Charles Montgomery), 1852-1907 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming." Internet Archive, Philadelphia : J.B. Lippincott Co., 1 Jan. 1970, https://archive.org/details/mythslegendsoffl00skin.
-Tresidder, J. (2008). The Watkins Dictionary of Symbols. Watkins.
(http://ogham.lyberty.com/otable.html)
(http://ogham.lyberty.com/ogmean.html)
(https://powo.science.kew.org/)
(https://www.secretflowerlanguage.com/) — Defunct
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_armandii)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_bhutanica)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_brutia)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_bungeana)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_canariensis)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_cembra)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_densiflora)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_halepensis)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_mugo)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_nigra)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_peuce)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_pinaster)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_roxburghii)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_sylvestris)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinus_thunbergii)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_pine)
Name assistance provided by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
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