Single-leaved pine

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Single-leaved pine
Pinus monophylla tree.jpg

Single-leaved pine ( Pinus monophylla )

Systematics
Order : Conifers (Coniferales)
Family : Pine family (Pinaceae)
Subfamily : Pinoideae
Genre : Pine ( Pinus )
Subgenus : Ducampopinus
Type : Single-leaved pine
Scientific name
Pinus monophylla
Torr. & Frém.

The Pinus monophylla ( Pinus monophylla ), also nut jaw , Einnadelige jaw or Einnadelige nut jaw called, is a plant from the genus of pine trees ( Pinus ) in the family of Pinaceae (Pinaceae). It is the only pine that forms short shoots with only one needle. Trees with an age of 300 years are not uncommon on poor soils. Trees of this age are lacking in favorable locations due to forestry, forest fires and game browsing . The maximum possible age could be more than 600 years. It is the official state tree of the US state Nevada .

description

Branch with needles
male cones
ripe cones
Seeds

Habitus

The single-leaved pine grows relatively slowly, generally reaching heights of about 6 to 12 meters and diameters at chest height of 30 to 50 centimeters. The annual increase in height of the young growth is about only 5 centimeters. Two meter high and 60 year old specimens are therefore not uncommon. One of the tallest individuals measures 16 meters in height. The mean annual increase in diameter is approximately 1 to 5 millimeters. The short trunk is often forked two or three times. If the crown is still pyramidal in its youth, it becomes rounder and more open with age.

Needles

Characteristic and namesake of this type are those with only one needle occupied short shoots . Two-needle bundles are also rare. The single-leaved pine is therefore very easy to identify; in all other pine species, two, three or five needles grow on the short shoots. The slightly curved, dull gray-green needles are between 2.5 and 6 centimeters long and 1.6 to 2.3 millimeters wide. They are strong, relatively stiff, sharply pointed, resinous and have smooth edges. They are round in cross-section and have 2 to 7 resin channels. In the courts of the stomata one finds many white stripes, which go back to wax deposits. The needles usually stay on the tree for five years.

Flowers, cones and seeds

The single-leaved pine is single-sexed ( monoecious ) and becomes manable at around 35 years of age, with maximum cone production only being reached at around 100 years of age. The first red, male and green, female cones appear in late spring or early summer. The pollen count and the willingness to pollinate fall in late June. Two growing seasons pass between pollination and seed maturity . The cones grow and develop slowly in the first vegetation period, they are only 1.5 to 1.9 centimeters long by the end of the first summer. Only after fertilization, which takes place one year later in the following spring, does growth accelerate, which ends at about 8 centimeters in length. The cones are usually ripe at the beginning of September, until the beginning of November the approximately 20 germinable, brown seeds can be released. The cones, which are shiny red-brown when ripe, are short-stalked, longer than wide and have a rounded base. The ripe, brown and wingless seeds are 10 to 22 millimeters long and edible. The endosperm is white, floury and extremely rich in starch; the embryo has 6 to 9 germ layers ( cotyledons ). The mass of a thousand grains of cleaned seeds is about 408 grams. The seeds fall to the ground directly under the mother tree or are collected in hiding places by birds such as the naked- billed jay ( Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus ) and the pine jay ( Nucifraga columbiana ) ( hiding-place spread ).

Chromosome number

The number of chromosomes is 2n = 24.

bark

The bark has been in the youth of the tree a light gray color and is smooth or scaly. It gets clear cracks with age. The color of the resulting scales ranges from dark brown to dark red. The bark of the old trees forms narrow and flat ridges as well as thin, tightly fitting, dark brown to reddish scales. The twigs are initially downy and later with glandular hairs.

Root system

The species forms a short and compressed taproot from which growth is severely restricted, especially on shallow substrates. Numerous fine roots are formed. Far-reaching side roots can reach a length of more than three times the height of the tree. The root of the seedlings grows up to 15 centimeters in the first 10 days. Only Cenococcum geophilum is named as a mycorrhizal partner .

Wood

The pale yellowish brown heartwood is surrounded by a narrow, almost white sapwood . The soft and resinous wood of the single-leaved pine is narrow due to its slow growth. It is harder than the wood of the yellow pine ( Pinus ponderosa ). Little information is available about wood technological properties. The bulk density is between 0.43 and 0.62 g / cm³.

Distribution and location

The main part of the distribution area of ​​the single-leaved pine is in Nevada , in western Utah and in the east and in the south of California . There are also smaller, isolated occurrences in southeast Idaho , northwest Arizona and Baja California, Mexico .

Mainly altitudes of 1,000 to 2,800 meters are settled. The highest altitudes of 3,050 meters are reached in the California White Mountains . The single-leaved pine is a tree of the semi-arid climate and tolerates greater drought than other types of pine. The precipitation of 200 to 460 millimeters is concentrated in the winter in the form of snow. In summer there are hot and dry conditions, the humidity is low, which is why the potential evapotranspiration can reach high values. In July, the mean maximum temperature is 30 ° C while the mean minimum temperature in January is −6 ° C. This type of pine grows best on well- drained soils with a coarse texture and a pH value of around 6 to 8.Although the species is not considered to be very shade-tolerant, the seedlings can usually be found under branches lying on the ground or the canopy of old trees and shrubs there Microclimate is less extreme.

The single-leaved pine is the dominant and therefore characteristic tree species in the semi-desert "Pinyon-Juniper-Woodlands" of the Great Basin . This tree community is supplemented by some types of juniper ( Juniperus ), mainly the Utah juniper ( Juniperus osteosperma ). Accompanying shrub species include Artemisia species, Eriogonum umbellatum and Purshia tridentata . The populated area of ​​this tree company is estimated to be about 7.1 million hectares , about two thirds of which in the US state of Nevada.

Diseases and pests

None of the parasitic types of fungus causes significant damage or even failures. Bifusella pini causes needle staining that is limited to older needles in the lower crown area. The rust fungus Cronartium occidentale causes swellings on branches and trunks, which can also lead to losses, but is hardly epidemic. Verticicladiella wagenerii is a root parasite that is particularly common in the San Bernardino Mountains of California. It kills the roots and stains the sapwood and root wood from dark brown to black. The spruce sponge ( Fomitopsis pinicola ), the pine brown sponge ( Phaeolus schweinitzii ) and the pine fire sponge ( Phellinus pini ) attack the wood, but are of little importance. In the entire distribution area, the dwarf mistletoe species Arceuthobium campylopodum causes considerable damage by deforming branches and trunk, loss of growth and total loss. Since this species hardly forms a witch's broom , the first symptoms of an infestation are hardly noticeable.

The bark beetle Ips confusus causes the greatest damage of all insect pests. It usually attacks large areas of trees that have been infected with Arceuthobium species or that are otherwise weakened. The needles are sucked in by the scale insect Matsucoccus acalyptus , then turn yellow and fall off. The needles and trunks are also attacked by the leaf beetle Glyptoscelis aridis , the longhorn beetle Haplidus testaceus and the bush horned sawfly Neodiprion edulicolis . The beetle Conophthorus monophyllae , the borer Dioryctria albovitella and the rodent beetle Ernobius montanus attack and destroy cones and seeds.

The most dangerous abiotic causes of damage to the single-leaved pine are drought and fire. Although this type of pine can withstand soil temperatures of around 70 degrees Celsius , seedlings can die in intense sunlight. Ground fires only destroy the young growth, the old stock is preserved. Crown fires are seen as more dangerous for the old stock. Especially old and rotten trees are at risk of wind throws .

use

Due to the crooked growth habit and the only small dimensions of the single-leaved pine, there is only poor timber suitability. Therefore, the wood is mainly used as firewood. This pine is also used as a Christmas tree. In the middle of the 19th century, at the time of silver mining, the single-leaved pine was cleared over a large area, especially in the vicinity of the mines. It was made into charcoal and used to smelt the ore or as firewood.

The seeds are an important source of food for humans and animals for the formerly native Indians and still today. The resin and inner parts of the bark were used as wound remedies in folk medicine. The smoke from the burning resin was inhaled to relieve headache and earache. A drink made from the needles was used against colds. The needles themselves were used against syphilis .

The Pinyon-Juniper forests are of great importance not only as a habitat for many endangered animal species, but also as a protection of the water catchment areas, especially against erosion.

Systematics

The single-leaved pine is counted within the genus of the pines ( Pinus ) to the Parrya section and the Cembroides subsection . Due to the extensive distribution area, there is great intra-species variance in genetics. The species has long been listed as a variety of the Mexican nut pine ( Pinus cembroides ). It is now widely believed that the single-leaved pine evolved from a two-needle species to reduce perspiration losses in hot summers.

Subspecies

For a long time there were uncertainties in the taxonomic-nomenclature breakdown and in the geographical distribution of some intraspecific taxa. In the first publications these populations were assigned to Pinus edulis var. Fallax . The species can be divided into three subspecies:

  • Pinus monophylla subsp. californiarum (DK Bailey) Zavarin occurs in California and Baja California.
  • Pinus monophylla subsp. fallax (Little) Zavarin occurs in Arizona, southwest Utah and New Mexico, and in the Mogollan Rim .
  • Pinus monophylla subsp. monophylla occurs in Nevada, southeast Idaho, eastern and southern California, Baja California, and northwest Arizona.

This subdivision is supported by morphological and chemotaxonomic analyzes.

hybrid

Natural hybrids with Pinus edulis , Pinus quadrifolia and Pinus juarezensis are formed in the areas where the distribution areas overlap .

Synonyms

Synonyms for Pinus monophylla are:

  • Caryopitys monophylla (Torrey & Frémont) Rydberg
  • Pinus californiarum D.K. Bailey
  • Pinus cembroides Zucc. var. monophylla (Torrey & Frémont) Voss

swell

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 446-447 .
  2. ↑ a b c Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 443 .
  3. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 443-444 .
  4. ^ Tropicos. [1]
  5. ↑ a b c Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 444 .
  6. ↑ a b c Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 442 .
  7. ↑ a b c Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 445 .
  8. ↑ a b c d e f Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 446-447 .
  9. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 3-933203-80-5 , p. 446-447 .

Web links

Commons : Single-leaved Pine ( Pinus monophylla )  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files