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Pinus pinaster
Maritime pine
Maritime pine, cluster pine (Eng); pino resinero, pino gallego, pino rodeno, pino marítimo (Spa); pinastre, pi marítim (Cat); itsas pinua (Baq); piñeiro bravo (Glg).
Non-Native
“… and I remember another trip / to the Duero lands. / Another trip of yesterday / on Spanish soil / —pines at dawn / between Almazán and Quintana!”
‘Otro viaje’, Antonio MachadoDESCRIPTION
Pyramidal pine that becomes rounded, parasol-shaped or irregular when adult. This tree can be up to 30 m tall. Its trunk is usually somewhat twisted, is dark chestnut brown in colour, and has thick bark. The paired needles, which measure 10-25 cm in length, are rigid, somewhat sharp, deep green in colour, and grow in pairs. Flowers of both sexes are found on the same plant. The male blooms are grouped into cylindrical yellow cones, whereas the females form distinct reddish or purplish cones. These cones are elongated, ovoid-conical, 8-22 cm long and 5-8 cm wide, with hardly any stalk. In addition, they have very prominent, pointed, rhomboidal pyramidal scales. The pine nuts are small, brown or black in colour. They have a membranous wing that facilitates their dispersal by the wind once the ripe cone opens.
ECOLOGY
It grows naturally on acidic substrates and is very tolerant of rocky soils and drought. Due to forestry activities, this pine can be found in the humid pine forests in some areas in the north of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, such as Mesa Mota (Tegueste), where it has become widely naturalised.
DISTRIBUTION
This tree is native to the western Mediterranean region. On the Iberian Peninsula it is the most widespread pine, both naturally and because it has been cultivated either for its wood or to stabilise erosion-prone soils. In the Canary Islands, it has only become established in the wild on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
