Swiss stone pine

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Swiss stone pine
Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra)

Swiss stone pine ( Pinus cembra )

Systematics
Class : Coniferopsida
Order : Conifers (Coniferales)
Family : Pine family (Pinaceae)
Subfamily : Pinoideae
Genre : Pine ( Pinus )
Type : Swiss stone pine
Scientific name
Pinus cembra
L.

The stone pine ( Pinus cembra ), also known as Arbe , Arve , Swiss stone pine or Swiss stone pine , is a species of the pine family (Pinaceae). Their home is the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains . The tree can grow up to 25 meters high. Its short shoots carry many tufts of five needles each. The seeds are misleadingly called stone pine nuts even though they are not nuts . The trees can live up to 1000 years. Their very aromatic scented wood is used as furniture and wood carving. Cones and seeds are used for food production and the production of spirits such as stone pine liqueur and stone pine schnapps.

Names

The name Zirbe or Zirm for this type of pine is common in Austria and Bavaria ( Germany ). Until the 16th century, however, the name only referred to their cones. The term is possibly derived from the Middle High German stone pine , which is translated as 'whirl around' or 'turn in a circle'.

The name addition "cembra" ( specific epithet ) was given by Carl von Linné after the vernacular names widespread in Europe . Among other things, Linné referred to the plant book De plantis epitome utilissima by Pietro Andrea Mattioli , published in 1586 , who had listed the species as Pinus Cembro .

  • Romansh:
    • Graubünden Romansh : dschember (Engadin), schiember (Oberland), schember (Rumantsch Grischun) (all with voiced initials [dʒ], [ʒ]),
    • Dolomite Ladin : cier , cirum , zirm (initial [tʃ], [ts]),
    • Friulian : cirmul ,
  • Italian: cembro , cirmolo (the latter from Friulian),
  • Romanian: zâmbru ,
  • French: pin cembro .

All of these words are probably of pre-Latin origin, with the exception of zirm and similar, which can reflect a dialect German Zirm = stone pine .

In German-speaking Switzerland this tree is usually called Arve , also called Arbe ; The former term is also used across languages ​​in French-speaking western Switzerland and Savoy . The typical mixed population of the high mountain region, which the Swiss stone pine forms together with the larch , is referred to in the specialist literature as the Swiss stone pine and larch forest .

description

Swiss stone pine in Switzerland
Autumn stone pines in association with larches, Hochrindl / Carinthia
Winter stone pine in association with larches, Angerkogel / Styria

Habitus

The stone pine is an evergreen tree that grows up to 25 meters high and has a diameter of up to 1.7 meters at chest height . Young trees have a straight trunk that ends in a narrow crown . The branches reach almost to the ground. Young shoots have a red-yellow colored, felty hair that turns black-gray after the first winter. Above all, free-standing old trees often grow in bizarre shapes and are often deeply and heavily branched. They are usually crooked or multi-stemmed. Such growth forms are rare in closed stands.

Root system

The Swiss stone pine is only rarely able to develop a root system undisturbed on the mostly shallow and sedimentary mountain soils. Young trees form a taproot , which is only short-lived and soon by strong countersink roots will be replaced emanating from the far-reaching lateral roots. These sinker roots penetrate the rock crevices and anchor the tree.

bark

The bark of old trees is gray-brown in color and has the longitudinal cracks typical of pines. The inner bark is reddish brown in color. The smooth bark of the young trees is glossy gray to gray-brown in color. The bark of the branches is gray-green to light gray in color. Young shoots are grooved.

Wood

The heartwood, which is initially reddish and later reddish brown, has a strong aromatic scent and is surrounded by a relatively narrow yellowish sapwood . The wood is relatively light, soft, not very durable, easy to work with, is nail and screw-proof and has an even, fine structure. It is sensitive to blue stain fungus . The annual rings are clearly visible. The latewood has numerous and relatively large resin channels . The wavy grain is given a decorative structure by many, healthy ingrown and dark reddish-brown branches. The kiln density is 0.37 to 0.56 g / cm³. Stone pine is light and soft ( kiln density 400 kg / m³, Brinell hardness 15 N / mm²) and very easy to work with, the strength properties are moderately good. In contrast, the degree of shrinkage is low. It's easy to split and carve. Drying is easy; the resin content must be taken into account when treating the surface .

Needles

The flexible needles of the stone pine are 5 to 11 centimeters long and around 1 millimeter thick. Each short shoot has several clusters of five needles each, which are usually arranged in clusters at the branch tip. The edge of the needle is finely sawn except for the needle point. The needles, which are triangular in cross section, have two sides pointing downwards. Each of these sides has several bluish-white colored stomata opening strips . The domed top of the needle is dark green and has no stomata. The primary needles that follow the cotyledons and the secondary needles formed later have stomata on both the top and bottom of the needle. With primary needles these are arranged in 6 to 7 rows and with secondary needles on the top side in 2 strips of 7 to 11 rows each and on the bottom side in a few short rows. The 9 to 12 cotyledons are around 3 centimeters long and have 2 stomata strips with 5 to 8 rows each on the top of the needle. In the first year of life, 14 to 22 flat primary needles with teeth on the edge are formed, which are provided with head hair. The needles can stay on the tree for up to 12 years.

Flowers, cones and seeds

The stone pine is single-sexed ( monoecious ), whereby self-fertilization is possible. On her own she becomes manable at around 40 years of age ; in dense stocks later. The flowering period extends from May to July. The purple female cones are short stalked and appear singly or in groups at the tips of long shoots . They are mainly found on the outer areas of the upper third of the crown. The yellowish to purple male cones are formed instead of short shoots at the base of young long shoots. They are mainly found in the lower third of the crown. The cones are 5 to 9 inches long and 3.5 to 6 inches thick. They are initially upright and bluish-green to purple in color, after about a year they turn to light brown when they are ripe. In the spring of the third year they fall off as a whole and only then disintegrate. The relatively thick, rounded seed scales are about 2 centimeters long. The 9 to 14 millimeters long and 0.2 to 0.25 grams heavy seeds have a functionless wing remnant. They remain in the cone and are removed and spread by animals. A cone contains an average of 93 seeds. The thousand grain weight is between 150 and 350 grams.

distribution

The Turracher Höhe is one of the largest closed stone pine forests in Austria.

The distribution area of the stone pine is divided into two parts:

The larger sub-area is located in the Alpine region with a focus on the continental central Alps . The western border is formed by the Maritime Alps and the Dauphiné in France , while the eastern border is on the Gamsstein in the Ybbstal Alps . To the south it occurs up to Monte Baldo and Monte Viso . To the north there are individual occurrences in the northern limestone Alps from Lake Geneva , in the Stubai and Tux Alps , in the Karwendel to the Salzkammergut and in the Bavarian and Berchtesgaden Alps . The species does not occur in the Allgäu . The forest of Tamangur in the Swiss Lower Engadine is considered to be the highest, closed stone pine forest in Europe .

The second and smaller subarea is in the High Tatras and in the Southern and Eastern Carpathians .

Outside of the natural range, the species is mainly found in parks and arboretums .

In the Ampasser Kessel below the Viggarspitze in the Tux Alps there is also the oldest tree in Tyrol, a more than 700 year old Swiss stone pine, which was declared a natural monument in 1926.

A stone pine tree from Tyrol that is over 700 years old

Location

The Zirbelkiefer forms pure stands or with the European larch ( Larix decidua ) in Vaccinio-pinetum cembrae associated and forms with it the larch pine forests of the upper sub-alpine stage .

Temperature and precipitation

The stone pine occurs at altitudes from 1300 meters to 2850 meters, preferably between 1500 and 2000 meters. It is a species of tree of the severe continental climate . It is considered to be the hardiest tree species in the Alps - temperatures of down to −43 ° C can be withstood unscathed - and is somewhat less susceptible to late frost .

In the inner-alpine area, where the annual rainfall is between 700 and 1000 mm, the stone pine grows mainly on the moister north and west slopes. In the northern Alps, it mainly grows on the warmer south and south-east slopes.

ground

The species prefers fresh and deep soils as well as acidic raw humus soils . It usually grows on granite , gneiss , slate , sandstone or limestone . It makes little demands on the nutrient content and pH value of the soil. A supply of potassium is important for the seedlings .

Pointer values

According to Ellenberg , it is a penumbral plant in its youth stage , a freshness indicator , growing in low-nitrogen locations and a federation character of the pine forests and mountain dwarf shrub heaths ( Rhododendro-Vaccinienion ). It is the final tree species of the high subalpine forest (Larici-Pinetum cembrae).

ecology

Diseases and pests

The stone pine is extremely resistant to abiotic hazards such as avalanches , erosion and wet snow . It is reasonably resistant to ozone and sulfur dioxide .

As a young plant, however, it cannot tolerate prolonged snow cover, as its needles would otherwise be attacked by the white snow mold ( Phacidium infestans ) fungus . The young growth is primarily through bites and sweeping of chamois , roe deer and deer greatly reduced.

The pathogen causing black pine shoot death , the hose fungus Gremmeniella abietina , attacks the bark of the Swiss stone pine. Stem rot pathogens and root parasites do not play a significant role. The causative agent of Strobenrostes , Cronartium ribicola , attacks the stone pine, but rarely addressed to damage.

An insect pests of be real pissodes ( Pissodes pini ) and the Gray larch ( Zeiraphera griseana ) called. The latter occurs above all in Swiss stone pine and larch forests , where mass reproductions occur at intervals of several years. The larches are primarily eaten bare, but usually do not die. If there are no more larches available, the pest spreads to the Swiss stone pine and also destroys their needles. These suffer very long-term and are then susceptible to attack by other pests.

Swiss stone pine and jay

Cones with open seed coats, the seed was consumed on site

The stone pine is in close partnership with the common pine jay ( Nucifraga caryocatactes ), whose main source of nutrition is the stone pine seeds. It is significantly involved in the natural regeneration of stands and, unlike other seed-eaters such as squirrels ( Sciurus vulgaris ), bank vole ( Myodes glareolus ) or woodpeckers , spreads this beyond the tree line .

The mechanism of propagation is the hiding place : from August onwards, the pine jay creates numerous storage hiding places with stone pine seeds for the winter. He prefers soft or loose ground and also creates larger deposits in this than in solid ground. Such places are relatively favorable for the germination success and the growth of the young trees. Seedlings grow from around 20% of the hidden seeds , because the common pine cannot find them again and they also escape consumption by other seed-eaters.

Mycorrhizae

The stone pine forms ectomycorrhizal symbioses with various fungi and is hardly viable without them, especially at higher altitudes.

The most common mycorrhizal partners include

use

Wood

Swiss stone pine

Zirbenzapfen ("Zirbelnuss") and twig
Pine bread pot

The wood of the stone pine is mainly used because of the lively pattern in the interior fittings for paneling and as furniture wood for country kitchens and bedrooms. Especially in Tyrol and South Tyrol there are many local artists who also use the wood of the stone pine (called Swiss stone pine in Austria) for works of art. It is also used for making clapboards and for carving ; Since the 17th century, most of the wood carvings in Val Gardena have been made from Swiss stone pine. In the alpine terrain, alpine huts were also made from it.

The easy access to the stone pine and the relatively soft texture of the wood make it easier to work with the material. Due to the natural fragrances that the wood gives off, the exhibits are not only beautiful to look at, they also smell good. The scent is created by a natural essential oil contained in the wood called pinosylvin .

Craftsmanship from Tyrol

In South Tyrol, various extracts of Swiss stone pine were used as medicinal products as early as the 18th century, including by farmers' doctors from Raggins. Based on this tradition, a form of wellness treatment with different components of the stone pine has developed today. Swiss stone pine cushions are made in Switzerland, Swiss stone pine cushions in Bavaria and Swiss stone pine rolls in Austria with specially planed pine wood chips as filling material. The oils with the typical aroma of stone pine that flow out of the chips for a long time are intended to ensure a deep and healthy sleep. The possible effects of beds made of stone pine were investigated in a study by Joanneum Research . However, this is criticized by experts as inadequate, so that it does not appear suitable as evidence that stone pine improves sleep.

Forestry additions were due to the Trägwüchsigkeit frequently browsing damage and a high failure rate in the pole stage , usually without much success. The wood of the North American Weymouth pine , which has been planted to a small extent in southern German forests, can in some cases be used as an alternative to Swiss stone pine. Due to the increased demand, the price of stone pine has tripled in recent years.

Swiss stone pine

Swiss stone pine

The tasty and nutritious seeds, which contain 70% fats and 20% protein , are now used as treats and for baking. They were of limited importance in medicine and were even exported at times.

In contrast to the similar looking pine nuts , they are usually less elongated and slightly more humid. The taste is also less resinous and is more reminiscent of walnuts .

Zirbengeist / Zirbenschnaps

A specialty is the Zirbengeist or Zirbenschnaps ("Zirbeler"), in which three to four Zirbenzapfen per liter of schnapps are inserted for several weeks until the extract has taken on a dark brown-reddish color. Zirbengeist or Zirbenschnaps is used as a medicinal and luxury product.

Other types of use

The Swiss stone pine fulfills important protective forest functions, especially in the high altitudes of the Alps . It is a popular species of pine as a garden tree. In Innsbruck, the “Zirbenweg” leads eastwards from the mountain station of the Patscherkofelbahn through one of the largest and oldest stone pine stands in Europe. On the Graukogel in Bad Gastein , a “Zirbenweg” was built as an adventure trail in the vicinity of centuries-old stone pines. A stone pine park was also built on the Hochzeiger in the Pitztal. The 1 kilometer long “ZirbenPark” circular hiking trail in the Pitztal starts at the Hochzeiger middle station at 2000 meters. The adventure trail leads through the stone pine forest with a view of the towns of Jerzens and Wenns. At the twelve stations there is interesting information to be found about the "Queen of the Alps", as the stone pine is also affectionately known. Stone pine forests in the Gastein Valley are used by the Austrian Federal Forests to obtain seeds by tree climbers, who harvest cones, especially during the mast years .

An immersion oil for microscopy can be made from their resin . Stone pine oil can be obtained from stone pine, which is used to improve the smell of the room due to its pleasant smell.

Systematics

Within the genus of pines ( Pinus ), the Swiss stone pine is classified as follows: sub-genus Strobus , section Quinquefoliae , subsection Strobus .

The Siberian stone pine , which in the past was often regarded as a subspecies or variety of Pinus cembra , is now viewed as an independent species, Pinus sibirica .

The number of chromosomes in the stone pine is 2n = 24.

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literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Gordon Cheers (Ed.): Botanica, trees & bushes . Tandem, 2006, ISBN 3-8331-4467-X , pp. 637 .
  2. ↑ See Helmut Genaust: Etymological Dictionary of Botanical Plant Names. 3rd, completely revised and expanded edition. Birkhäuser, Basel / Boston / Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-7643-2390-6 (reprint ISBN 3-937872-16-7 ).
  3. ↑ a b c Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 347 .
  4. ↑ a b Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 350 .
  5. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 349 .
  6. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 348 .
  7. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 349-350 .
  8. ↑ proHolz Austria: Types of wood: Swiss stone pine. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
  9. ↑ a b Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 348-349 .
  10. ↑ Radio DRS3 report from July 29, 2012 ( memento from January 1, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), accessed on August 12, 2012.
  11. ↑ a b Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 346 .
  12. ^ Erich Oberdorfer : Plant-sociological excursion flora for Germany and neighboring areas . With the collaboration of Angelika Schwabe and Theo Müller. 8th, heavily revised and expanded edition. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3131-5 , pp.  95 .
  13. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 350-351 .
  14. ↑ Central European forest tree species. Species description and ecology with special consideration of Switzerland. (No longer available online.) Professorship for Silviculture and Professorship for Forest Protection & Dendrology at ETH Zurich, archived from the original on June 23, 2013 ; Retrieved on September 23, 2015 (reprint of the 1995 edition, Zurich, 2002). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wm.ethz.ch
  15. ↑ a b c Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 352 .
  16. ↑ What is pinosylvin and how does it help the stone pine? In: Otto's stone pine house . ( zirbenholz-kaufen.de [accessed October 30, 2018]).
  17. ↑ The Ragginer peasant doctors and their stone pine healing art . Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  18. ↑ Vincent Grote, Helmut Lackner, Franziska Muhry, Michael Trapp, Maximilian Moser: Evaluation of the effects of a stone pine environment on circulation, sleep, well-being and vegetative regulation . JOANNEUM RESEARCH Institute for Non-Invasive Diagnostics, Weiz 2003 ( PDF )
  19. ↑ Stone pine: the smell of the forest as a sleep aid? at www.medizin-transparent.at , accessed on May 9, 2015.
  20. ^ Information from science / from LWF-aktuell No. 20 of the Bavarian State Institute for Forest and Forest Science, 1999.
  21. ↑ http://www.krone.at/Bauen-Wohnen/Der_grosse_Run_auf_die_Zirbe-Zirbenholz_im_Trend-Story-443937 The big run on the stone pine, krone.at, March 18, 2016, accessed April 19, 2016.
  22. ↑ http://salzburg.orf.at/news/stories/2769244/ Prices for stone pine tripled, orf.at, April 18, 2016, accessed April 19, 2016.
  23. ↑ Schütt, Weisgerber, Schuck, Lang, Stimm, Roloff: Lexicon of conifers . Nikol, Hamburg 2008, ISBN 978-3-933203-80-9 , pp. 345 .
  24. ^ Karl-Heinz Kindel: Pines in Europe . Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart a. a. 1995, ISBN 3-437-30771-1 , pp. 46 .
  25. ↑ http://salzburg.orf.at/tv/stories/2728326/ Zirbenweg: Naturerlebnis in Bad Gastein, orf.at, August 27, 2015, accessed on April 19, 2016.
  26. ↑ ZirbenPark Hochzeiger , accessed on February 17, 2018.
  27. ↑ http://salzburg.orf.at/news/stories/2742049/ record year for tree cones, orf.at, November 13, 2015, accessed April 19, 2016.
  28. ↑ David S. Gernandt, Gretel Geada López, Sol Ortiz García, Aaron Liston: Phylogeny and classification of Pinus . Taxon, Volume 54, 2005, pp. 29–42 Phylogeny and classification of Pinus (pdf; 452 kB) ( Memento from August 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Wiktionary: Swiss stone pine  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Swiss stone pine  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
This version was added to the list of articles worth reading on September 23, 2009 .