Siberian Dwarf Pine
| Siberian Dwarf Pine | |
|---|---|
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Pinus |
| Subgenus: | Strobus |
| Species: | P. pumila |
| Binomial name | |
| Pinus pumila (Pall.) Regel |
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Pinus pumila (also known as the Siberian dwarf pine, Dwarf Siberian Pine, Japanese stone pine or Creeping pine) is a native to northeastern Asia, including the islands of Japan. This shrubby pine ranges from 1–3 m in height, exceptionally up to 5 m, but may have individual branches that extend farther along the ground in length. In the mountains of northern Japan, it sometimes hybridises with the related Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora); these hybrids (Pinus x hakkodensis) are larger than P. pumila, reaching 8–10 m tall on occasion.
The leaves are needle-like, formed in bundles of five and are 4–6 cm long. The cones are 2.5-4.5 cm long, with large nut-like seeds (pine nuts).
It shares the common name Creeping pine with several other plants.
[edit] Ecology
The seeds are harvested and dispersed by the Spotted Nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).
[edit] References and external links
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus pumila. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Images - Flavon's Wild herb and Alpine plants
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