Damigeron's Dungeon: Prestigious Plants - Gymnosperms - Conifers 07

Plant Indices

Alphabetical Index (Genera)
Alphabetical Index (Vernacular)
Cladistic Index

PINE (Pinus)

ᚘ; ᚐ

Pinus densiflora, Kumgangsan, North Korea.
From yeowatzup (defunct) at Flickr.

Family: Pinaceae
Names:

Pine
Akamatsu [Japanese]
Arolla [French]
Beli Bor [Serbian]
Bor [Turkish]
Borovica [Slovak]
Borovice [Czech]
Borovnica [Croatian]
Boru [Latvian]
Çam [Turkish]
Chan [Vietnamese]
Deodar [Hindi]
Fenyő [Hungarian]
Fu [Japanese]
Furetto [Japanese]
Furu [Japanese]
Furutræ [Danish]
Gimeldia [Lingua Ignota]
Gran [Spanish]
Grenadier [French]
Gul [Kashmiri]
Gurgen [Armenian]
Harilik Mänd [Estonian]
Jalguni [Korean]
Kiefer [German]
Köknar [Turkish]
Kong [Chinese]
Kozolec [Slovenian]
Kuromatsu [Japanese]
Mänd [Estonian]
Manshu-goyo [Japanese]
Mänty [Finnish]
Matsu [Japanese]
Pain [French]
Pehuen [Mapudungun]
Peuke [Greek]
Pin [French]
Pinho [Portuguese]
Pini [Albanian]
Pino [Italian/Spanish]
Pinu [Romanian]
Pinyu [Asturian]
Pión [Galician]
Pušis [Lithuanian]
Pyeong-song [Korean]
Sapin [French]
Seki [Japanese]
Shōhaku [Japanese]
Song [Chinese]
Sōng Shù [Chinese]
Sosna [Polish/Russian/Ukrainian]
Tall [Swedish]
Thông [Vietnamese]
Till [Romani]
Weki-Song [Korean]

Distribution: Northern Hemisphere, some parts of the Southern Hemisphere;

Physical Description
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.

Symbolism

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.

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.

Culture

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.

A bottle of turpentine.
Image taken from pine-chemicals.com.

Chinese Ink
One of the major ingredients of Chinese ink is pine soot.

Magic

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).

Medical
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

Food
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.

Retsina wine, courtesy of Greek Wine Cellars (formerly Kourtaki Wines).
Own work--Nsaa.

Compiler Notes

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.

Image Refs

[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 ]

[Img 04 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Retsina.JPG ]

Grove of Aleppo pines, Pinet, Hérault, France.
Own work--Christian Ferrer.

Names:

Aleppo Pine
Aleppokiefer [German]
Beli Bor [Croatian]
Bor Halepski [Croatian]
Çam [Turkish]
Carrasco [Spanish]
Halep Çamı [Turkish]
Jerusalem Pine
Mediterranean Pine
Pin Blanc [French]
Pin d'Alep [French]
Pino Carrasco [Spanish]
Pino d'Aleppo [Italian]
Sosna Alepska [Polish]
White Pine
Yerusalim Çami [Turkish]

Distribution:

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)

Physical Description
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.

Pinus halepensis cones.
Own work (presumed)--MPF.

Food

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.

Compiler Notes

Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 05 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aleppo_Pines_grove,_Pinet,_H%C3%A9rault_02.jpg ]

[Img 06 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Halep.jpg ]

Pinus amamiana.
No photographer listed, American Conifer Society.

Names:

Amami Pine
Amami-goyo [Japanese]
Amami-Goyomatsu [Japanese]
Kerama Pine
Yakushima Pine
Yakushima White Pine
Yakushima-goyo [Japanese]
Yakutane-Goyomatsu [Japanese]

Distribution:

Asia, East: Japan (including Nansei-shoto)

Physical Description
Amamai pine is a small evergreen tree that grows up to 25m (82ft) tall and 1m (3.2ft) in diameter.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution

Image Refs

[Img 07 - https://conifersociety.org/conifers/pinus-amamiana/ ]

Pinus peuce, Maliocitsa, Rila Mountains, Bulgaria.
Cropped by Galliano from photo by Stelian Kasabov.

Names:

Balkan Pine
Balkankiefer [German]
Balkanskom Bor [Serbian]
Macedonian Pine
Makedonische Kiefer [German]
Molika [Macedonian]
Molikata [Bulgarian]
Molikë [Albanian]
Peuce [Ancient Greek]
Pin De Macédoine [French]
Pin De Peuce [French]
Rumelian Pine
Serbian Pine

Distribution:

Europe, Southern: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia, Serbia

Physical Description
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.

Pinus peuce cones. Cultivated, Finland.
From vanikat on Flickr.

Culture

Timber
Favored in its native range for construction, furniture production, wood-carving, and for making casks and barrels (cooperage).

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 08 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_peuce_Maliovitsa.jpg ]

[Img 09 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_peuce_cones.jpg ]

Pinus bhutanica.
No identified photographer.

Names:

Bhutan Pine
Bhutan White Pine
Bhutanese Pine
Bhutanese White Pine
Himalayan White Pine
Thimphu Pine

Distribution:

Asia, East: China (China South-Central)
Asia, South: India (East Himalaya)
Asia, Central: Tibet

Physical Description
Bhutan white pine is a small evergreen tree up to 25m (82ft) tall.

Pinus bhutanica pine cone from the K. Rushford collection.
From Michael P Frankis.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 10 - https://www.plantplaces.com/perl/viewpicturedetails.pl?Region=&Directory=photos&Picture_Name=plantplacesimage020140317_215250.jpg&Genus=Pinus&Species=bhutanica&Common=&Cultivar= ]

[Img 11 - https://conifers.org/pi/Pinus_bhutanica.php ]

Pinus nigra, Świerklaniec, Poland.
Own work--Przykuta.

Names:

Black Pine
Austrian Pine
Córsican Pine
European Black Pine
Kara Çam [Turkish]
Österreichische Schwarzkiefer [German]
Pin Noir [French]
Pin Noir D'autriche [French]
Pino Laricio [Italian]
Pino Nero [Italian]
Schwarzkiefer [German]
Svartfuru [Norwegian]
Svarttall [Swedish]
Zwarte Den [Dutch]

Distribution:

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.

Physical Description
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.

Pine cone.
Own work--Dezidor.

Symbolism

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.

Culture

Timber
Used for general construction, fuel, and paper.

Medical
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)

Compiler Notes

Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 12 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%C5%9Awierklaniec_pinus_nigra_12.06.2010_p.jpg ]

[Img 13 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Borovicov%C3%A1_%C5%A1i%C5%A1ka.jpg ]

Pinus canariensis forest, peak of Las Nieves, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.
Own work--Pepelopex.

Names:

Canary Island Pine
Canarian Pine
Canary Pine
Kanarische Kiefer [German]
Pin Canarien [French]
Pin des Canaries [French]
Pino Canario [Spanish]
Pino De Canarias [Spanish]

Distribution:

Europe, Southern: Spain (Canary Islands)

Physical Description
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.

Mature male cones, Peese de Las niñas.
Own work--Santamarcanda.

Compiler Notes

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.

Image Refs

[Img 14 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gran_canaria_llanos_de_la_pez_roque_nublo_teide.jpg ]

[Img 15 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_canariensis_(male)_in_Presa_de_las_Ni%C3%B1as_02_(cropped).jpg ]

Lacebark Pine of Susong-dong, South Korea Natural Monument No.9.
Own work--Integral.

Names:

Chinese Lacebark Pine
Bai Pi Song [Chinese]
Baihuasong [Chinese]
Baeksong [Korean]
Bunge’s Pine
Bunges Kiefer [German]
Chinese Whitebark Pine
Lacebark Pine
Pin à Écorce Blanche [French]
Pin de Bunge [French]
Whitebark Chinese Pine
Whitebark Pine

Distribution:

Asia, East: China (China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Inner Mongolia)

Biome: Alpine and temperate; prefers limestone and south-facing slopes

Physical Description
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).

Pinus bungeana at Kew Gardens, London, England.
Own work--Somepics.

Symbolism
Immortality
Symbolizes longevity in Chinese gardens.

Funerary
A popular tree planted around temples and cemeteries in China and Korea.

Medical

Respiratory Issues
The seeds are consumed in traditional Chinese medicine because they relieve respiratory issues.

Closeup of the bark of the Kew Gardens specimen.
Own work--Somepics.

Compiler Notes

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.

Image Refs

[Img 16 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lacebark_pine_of_Susong-dong.jpg ]

[Img 17 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_bungeana_Kew2.jpg ]

[Img 18 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_bungeana_Kew3.jpg ]

Pinus armandii, Munming Botanical Garden, Kunking, Yunnan, China.
Own work--Daderot.

Names:

Chinese White Pine
Armand's Pine
Armandi Pin [French]
Armands Kiefer [German]
Chinese White Pine
Daimatsu [Japanese]
David's Pine
Huashan Pine
Màosōng [Chinese]
Mount Hua Pine
Nan Song [Chinese]
Stone Pine
Tibet Longleaf Pine
Xue Song [Chinese]
Ya Bai Song [Chinese]

Distribution:

Asia, East: China (China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Inner Mongolia), Taiwan
Asia, Southeast: Myanmar
Asia, Central: Tibet

Physical Description
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.

Symbolism

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.

Magic

Immortality
Taoists seeking immortality are recorded as consuming large quantities of pine resin to prolong their lives.

Poison
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.

Food
The nuts are edible.

Compiler Notes

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.

Image Refs

[Img 19 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_armandii_-_Kunming_Botanical_Garden_-_DSC02782.JPG ]

Pinus roxburghii, Uttarakhand, India.
From Treesftf at Flickr.

Names:

Chir Pine
Barmian Kail [Hindi]
Chir [Hindi]
Dhup [Nepali]
East Himalayan Pine
Indian Longleaf Pine
Kail [Hindi]
Khote Salla [Nepali]
Lekali Salla [Nepali]
Longifolia Pine
Longleaf Indian Pine
Rani Salla [Nepali]
Roxburgh's Pine
Salla [Nepali]
Saral [Hindi]
Thakil [Hindi]
Thansa [Bhutanese]
Three-Needled Pine

Distribution:

Asia, South: Bangladesh, India (East Himalaya), Nepal, Pakistan
Asia, Central: Tibet

Biome: Alpine

Physical Description
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.

Male cones of Pinus roxburghii.
Own work--Paul venter.

Culture

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

Compiler Notes

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.

Image Refs

[Img 20 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_roxburghii_tree.jpg ]

[Img 21 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinrox00.jpg ]

A stand of Pinus pinaster.
From treeseedonline.com.

Names:

Cluster Pine
Chir Pine
Corbezzolo [Italian]
Maritime Pine
Pin Des Landes [French]
Pin Maritime [French]
Pin Mésogéen [French]
Pinheiro-Bravo [Portuguese]
Pino Gallego [Spanish]
Pino Marittimo [Italian]
Pino Resinero [Spanish]
Pino Rodeno [Spanish]
Seekiefer [German]
Strandden [Dutch]
Strandgran [Norwegian]
Tähtioksamänty [Finnish]
Zeeden [Dutch]
Zeestrandden [Dutch]

Distribution:

Africa, Northern: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia
Europe, Southern: Italy (including Sardinia, Sicily), Portugal, Spain (including Balearic Islands)
Europe, Western: France (including Corsica)

Physical Description
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.

Bark of Pinus pinaster.
Own work--Jean Pol GRANDMONT.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 22 - https://www.treeseedonline.com/store/p96/Maritime_Pine_(pinus_pinaster).html ]

[Img 23 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_pinaster_JPG2.jpg ]

Pinus thunbergii, location and photographer unclear.

Names:

Japanese Black Pine
Chikumatsu [Japanese]
Gobansho [Korean]
Gomsol [Korean]
Haesonamu [Korean]
Hēisōng [Chinese]
Kuro Matsu [Japanese]
Kuromatsu [Japanese]
Omatsu [Japanese]
Onnomatsu [Japanese]
Thumsong [Korean]
Thunberg's Pine
Wonsongsong [Korean]

Distribution:

Asia, East: Japan, Korea

Physical Description
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.

Male cones, location and photographer unclear.

Culture

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.

Compiler Notes

Resistant to salt. Exploit.
Second flush in bonsai gardening is unique. Exploit.

Image Refs

[Img 24 - https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pinus-thunbergii/ ]

[Img 25 - https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/pinus-thunbergii/ ]

Pinus densiflora.
Own work--Mochi.

Names:

Japanese Red Pine
Akamatsu [Japanese]
Chì sōng [Chinese]
Japanese Pine
Korean Pine
Korean Red Pine
Meomatsu [Japanese]
Nise Akamatsu [Japanese]
Pin Rouge du Japon [French]
Red Pine
Rote Kiefer [German]
Sonamu [Korean]

Distribution:

Asia, East: Japan, Korea
Asia, Northern: Russia (Primorye)

Physical Description
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.

Culture

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.

Compiler Notes

Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 26 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Matsu01.jpg ]

Pinus mugo forest, Graubünden, Switzerland.
Own work--Hansueli Krapf (Simisa).

Names:

Mugo Pine
Alpen-Bergkiefer [German]
Arve [Norwegian]
Bergden [Dutch]
Bergfohre [German]
Bergfuru [Norwegian]
Bergtall [Swedish]
Bog Pine
Borovac [Croatian]
Creeping Pine
Dwarf Mountain Pine
Dwarf Pine
European Mountain Pine
Gež [Slovene]
Kleč [Czech]
Kosodrzewina [Polish]
Krummholz
Latsche [German]
Latschenkiefer [German]
Legföhre [German]
Mountain Pine
Mugho Pine
Mugofuru [Japanese]
Pin De Montagne [French]
Pin Mugo [French]
Pino Mugo [Italian]
Scrub Mountain Pine
Swiss Mountain Pine
Zwergkiefer [German]

Distribution:

Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
Europe, Eastern: Romania, Ukraine
Europe, Southern: Albania, Bulgaria, Italy, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia

Physical Description
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.

Young cones.
Own work--Queryzo.

Food
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.

Compiler Notes

Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 27 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Swiss_National_Park_007.JPG ]

[Img 28 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Junge_Zapfen.jpg ]

Pinus sylvestris, Tärnättholmarna Presque-isle, Skuleskogen, Ornskoldsvik, Sweden.
Own work--Mickaël Delcey (Silverkey)

Names:

Scots Pine
Almindelig Fyr [Danish]
Baltic Pine
Borovice Lesní [Czech]
Common Pine
Den [Dutch]
Dvīņu Priede [Latvian]
European Redwood
Föhre [German]
Fura [Norwegian]
Furu [Norwegian]
Gemeine Kiefer [German]
Grove Den [Dutch]
Gul Tall [Swedish]
Kauri [Maori]
Kiefer [German]
Mänd [Estonian]
Männy [Finnish]
Mänty [Finnish]
Northern Pine
Ordinary Pine
Paprastoji Pušis [Lithuanian]
Pin Rouge [French]
Pin Sylvestre [French]
Pino Albar [Spanish]
Pino Rosso [Italian]
Pino Royo [Spanish]
Pino Silvestre [Italian/Spanish]
Pinu Silvestru [Romanian]
Red Deal
Red Pine
Rottanne [German]
Scotch Pine
Sosna [Polish]
Sosna Zwyczajna [Polish]
Tall [Swedish]
Waldkiefer [German]

Distribution: 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

Physical Description
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.

Pinus sylvestris cones, Bulgaria.
By Georgi Kunev, from freeimagesfrombulgaria.com (defunct).

Culture

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).

Compiler Notes

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.

Image Refs

[Img 29 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Skuleskogen_pine.jpg ]

[Img 30 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_sylvestris_hamata_cones_Bulgaria.jpg ]

Pinus pinea, Wellington Botanic Gardens, Wellington, New Zealand.
Own work--Karora.

Names:

Stone Pine
Cèdre [French]
Cembro Cultivado [Portuguese]
Edible Pine
European Nut Pine
Fistık Çamı [Turkish]
Italian Stone Pine
Mediterranean Stone Pine
Parasol Pine
Pin Parasol [French]
Pin Pignon [French]
Pinha [Portuguese]
Pinheiro-Manso [Portuguese]
Pinie [German]
Pinjeboom [Dutch]
Pinjetræ [Danish]
Pinjie [Dutch]
Pino Da Pinoli [Italian]
Pino Domestico [Italian]
Pino Manso [Spanish]
Pino Piñonero [Spanish]
Pinoli [Italian]
Umbrella Pine

Distribution:

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)

Physical Description
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.

Pinus pinea cone, Fuendetodos, Aragon, Spain.
From S. Rae on Flickr.

Symbolism

Rome
A symbol of Rome, was planted along the roads of the empire during the Republic period.

Culture

Fuel
The resin and empty pine cones can be burned for fuel.

Food
Cultivated for pine nuts.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 31 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_pine#/media/File:Pinus_pinea_Wellington_Botanic_Gardens.jpg ]

[Img 32 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_pinea_-_cone_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg ]

Pinus cembra, Dachstein, Austria.
Own work--Tigerente.

Names:

Swiss Pine
Alpenkiefer [German]
Arbe [German/Romansh]
Arolla Pine
Austrian Stone Pine
Auvier [French]
Cembra Pine
Cembran Pine
Cembro Pine
Cimbru [Romanian]
Cirme [French]
Cirmo [Italian]
European Stone Pine
Kędrzyna [Polish]
Kiefer [German]
Limba [Romanian]
Limbová Borovice [Czech]
Pin Cembro [French]
Pin des Alpes [French]
Pino Cembro [Italian]
Russian Cedar
Stone Pine
Swiss Pine
Swiss Stone Pine
Zirbe [German]
Zirbel [German]
Zirbelkiefer [German]
Zirm [German]

Distribution:

Europe, Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Switzerland
Europe, Eastern: Romania, Ukraine
Europe, Southern: Italy
Europe, Western: France

Biome: Alpine

Physical Description
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.

Pinus cembra cones, Val Gardena, South Tyrol.
Retouched by Moroder.

Culture

Military Emblem
The cone of this pine was the emblem of the Roman legion stationed at Rhaetia in 15 BC.

Food

Schnapps
The pine cones can be used as a flavorant in gin when sliced.

Compiler Notes

Retained for names and distribution.

Image Refs

[Img 33 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zirbe01.jpg ]

[Img 34 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_cembra_cones_in_Gr%C3%B6den_crop.jpg ]

Pinus brutia, Findikli, Adana Province, Turkey.
From Vince Smith at Flickr.

Names:

Turkish Pine
Aegean Pine
Aleppo Pine
Bodur Çam [Turkish]
Brutia Pine
Calabrian Pine
Çam [Turkish]
Calabrian Pine
Chir Pine
East Mediterranean Pine
Kalabrische Kiefer [German]
Kızılçam [Turkish]
Mediterranean Pine
Pin Brutia [French]
Pin de Calabre [French]
Pin Rouge [French]
Pino Brutia [Italian]
Pino D'aleppo [Italian]
Turkish Red Pine

Distribution:

Asia, Northern: Russia (Krym, North Caucasus)
Asia, West: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Europe, Eastern: Bulgaria, Ukraine
Europe, Southern: Greece

Physical Description
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.

Mature female cone, Argaka, Cyprus.
From S. Rae at Flickr.

Food
Pine Honey
Bees collect honeydew from aphids on this tree, producing a richly flavored “pine honey” (Turkish, çam balı), which supposedly has medical benefits.

Compiler Notes

Retained for name and distribution.
Pine honey from these trees would be a good reference point for foreign luxury.

Image Refs

[Img 35 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_brutia,_Findikli_0.jpg ]

[Img 36 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pinus_brutia_-_cones_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg ]

* * * * * * *

See Also:

Plants
Flowers
Trees
Ferns
Moss and Lichen [Pending]
Fungi [Pending]
Cladistic Index
Herbal Medicine [Pending]
Resin, Incense, Balsam, and Lacquer [Pending]

Cedar
Cypress
Ephedra
Fir
Ginkgo
Juniper
Larch
Spruce
Yew

* * * * * * *

-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.

Name assistance provided by Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

Damigeron's Dungeon

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Prestigious Plants - Gymnosperms - Conifers 07 - Pine

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