Everything about The Canary Island Pine totally explained
The
Canary Island Pine (
Pinus canariensis) is a species in the genus
Pinus, family
Pinaceae, native to the outer
Canary Islands (
Gran Canaria,
Tenerife,
Gomera,
Hierro,
La Palma) in the
Atlantic Ocean. It is a subtropical pine and doesn't tolerate low temperatures or hard frost, surviving temperatures down to about −6 to −10 °C. Within its natural area, it grows under extremely variable rainfall regimes, from less than 300 mm to several thousands, mostly due to differences in mist-capturing by the foliage. Under warm conditions, this is one of the most drought tolerant pines, living even with less than 200 mm per year.
It is a large
evergreen tree, growing to 30-45 m tall and 1.5 m trunk diameter, exceptionally up to 60 m tall and 2.5 m diameter. The green to yellow-green
leaves are needle-like, in bundles of three, 15-30 cm long, with finely toothed margins and often drooping. A characteristic of the species is the occurrence of glaucous (bluish-green) epicormic shoots growing from the lower trunk, but in its natural area this only occurs as a consequence of fire or other damage. In fact, this pine is one of the most fire-resistant conifers in the world. The
cones are 10-23 cm long, glossy chestnut-brown in colour, frequently remaining close for several years (serotinous cones). Its closest relatives are the
Chir Pine (
Pinus roxburghii) from the
Himalaya, the Mediterranean pines Pinus pinea, Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinaster and the
Turkish Pine from the eastern
Mediterranean.
The native range has been somewhat reduced due to over-cutting so that only the islands of Tenerife and La Palma still have large forests. It is the tallest tree in the Canary Islands.
Cultivation and uses
The aromatic
wood, especially the heartwood, is among the finest of pine woods - hard, strong and durable. It is also popular as an
ornamental tree in warm climates. In
South Africa and
Australia, this has become naturalized from landscape use.
Image:CanaryIslandPine02MelbourneBotanicGardens.jpg|trunk
Image:pincan01.jpg|Epicormic shoots
Image:pincan05.jpg|Mature opened female cone
Image:pincan21a.jpg|Figure on timber
Image:Pinus canariensis PICT3077.jpg|Fire-resistant trunk
Image:Pinus canariensis PICT3076.jpg|Tenerife south
Further Information
Get more info on 'Canary Island Pine'.
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