Contents
¿What is a maritime pine?
Characteristics of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster)
Common English name: Maritime pine, cluster pine
Common name in other languages:
– Spanish / Castellano: Pino marítimo, pino carrasco, pino resinero, pino ródeno, pino negral, pino rubial, pino bravo, pino de las landas, pino de Flandes, pino gallego, pino morisco, pino negral, pino de Burdeos, pino laricio, pino bermejo, ródeno, pino oficinal.
Description of maritime pine
Evergreen tree of the Pinaceae family up to 40 meters high, although it rarely passes 30.
Erect stems , dark red with little branching only at the top where it presents a very open crown with a few spreading branches.
Bright bluish green leaves or yellowish green, very elongated with 15 or 20 cm in length, very thick and sharp, grouped in pairs. Green pine cones in youth that become reddish brown when mature, 9 to 20 cm long, narrow and conical, gathered in groups with a short petiole. Maturation occurs after two years.
Inedible seeds about 8 mm long with wings of about 3mm.
The seed dispersion is performed through the wind (wind dispersal)
Maritime pine habitat
It comes from the southern part of Europe. On the west, it naturally occupies the area of Portugal, Galicia and extends to the north of the Garonne River in France.
In southwestern France, in the region known as Landes, it is where the world’s largest forests of this species are found. This covers the entire area of the Spanish Levant, France, Italy and Corsica. It almost occupies the entire Iberian Peninsula, especially after many forests have been repopulated with this species. On the south it grows in northern Morocco and, to a lesser extent in Algeria.
It grows mainly along the coast, from sea level to 600 meters, although it can be found in the mountains of Morocco to 2,000 meters. He prefers granitic terrain and thrives well on sandy soils. Many repopulation have been established over the dunes to fix them.
It has been planted as an ornamental in other places in the world such as California, South Africa and Australia. In all these sites it has adapted very well, especially in South Africa where it is considered an invasive species. It has also been introduced in western Europe, reaching to northern Scotland and the east coast of the United States. It can survive, albeit with difficulty, to almost 50 ° north latitude.
Like Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis) is a resin-producing species, which facilitates combustion in forest fires that appear very often where it is planted. The fire facilitates the expulsion of the seeds.
Uses of maritime pine
- Maritime pine wood: This pine tree is much appreciated in construction for its strength. It has a density of 0.533.
- Medicinal: Production of nutritional and medicinal supplements
More information on pine nuts and pines
