Montezuma pine
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Montezuma pine ( Pinus montezumae ) |
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The Montezuma pine ( Pinus montezumae ) is a species of pine ( Pinus ) endemic to Mexico .
features
The Montezuma pine is a tree that reaches stature heights of 20 to 35 meters and trunk diameters of 50 to 80 cm. The branches are large, mostly horizontal, and form a dense, round crown . Young trees have a dense pyramidal crown. In mature trees, the bark is thick, dark gray-brown and divided into rough, scaly plates by deep vertical and horizontal cracks. In young trees, the bark is red-brown, rough and scaly. The branches are thick, stiff, and reddish brown.
The needle leaves are usually in bundles of five, rarely four or six. The shape is variable from thick and upright to slim and slightly hanging. They are 15 to 25 cm long, sometimes up to 30 cm. The edge is finely sawn. There are two to six resin channels, usually four or five. The two vascular bundles collide.
The cones are egg-shaped to conical, the cone scales thick and with a small upright thorn. Two to three cones stand together on a scaly, upright stem.
The cones are long-ovoid or conical, mostly slightly curved. When opened, they are 12 to 15 cm long and 7 to 10 cm wide. They are light brown and stand two or three on a short stem that remains on the tree along with the lowest scales when the cones fall off. The cones open to maturity and then fall off. The cone scales are thick, hard, stiff. The apophysis is approximately pyramidal, the umbo sits dorsally, slightly raised, is gray-brown and has a small, sloping thorn.
The seeds are small, 6 to 7 mm, and dark brown. The seed wing is 20 mm long and 7 mm wide. The number of cotyledons is usually six or seven.
The sapwood is yellowish-white, the heartwood light brown. The wood is hard, heavy and resinous.
Occurrence
The Montezuma pine is native to Mexico and occurs in the following states: Nuevo León , Coahuila , Tamaulipas , Hidalgo , Tlaxcala , Puebla , Veracruz , México , Morelos , Distrito Federal de México , Michoacán , Jalisco , Guerrero , Oaxaca and Chiapas . It also occurs in Guatemala . The largest contiguous area is in the Central Volcanic Mountain Range, which runs across Mexico from west to east on the geographical latitude of Mexico City.
The Montezuma pine grows at altitudes of 2000 to 3200 meters under warm-temperate to cold-temperate conditions. The annual rainfall is 800 to 1000 mm. In the higher elevations there is snow and frost.
Systematics
The species is very variable and forms transitional forms with Pinus pseudostrobus . Two varieties are distinguished within the species:
- Pinus montezumae var. Gordoniana (Hartw. Ex Gordon) Silba (Syn .: Pinus gordoniana Hartw. Ex Gordon ): It occurs only in Mexico.
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Pinus montezumae var. Montezumae (Syn .: Pinus montezumae var. Linleyi Loudon ): It occurs in Mexico and Guatemala. Including the form:
- Pinus montezumae forma macrocarpa Martínez : with longer cones and more delicate scales.
literature
Jesse P. Perry: The Pines of Mexico and Central America . Timber Press, Portland 1991, pp. 110ff. ISBN 0-88192-174-2
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Pinus. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 19, 2019.
Web links
- Description of the species on www.conifers.org
- Pinus montezumae inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Farjon, A., 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2013.