
Pine
Umbrella pine, Pinus pinea (to the right): it is met on the Mediterranean coast. It is emblem of the Italian peninsula. Laricio pine: pine of Mediterranean regions, it supports the climate of the Paris region (nice tree planted by Jussieu, in 1784, in the Garden of plants, to the left). It supports pollution. Leaves: needles grouped in fascicles from 2 to 5. Clustered, they form a cylinder; their cross-section is a semicircle for needles grouped by two (the most frequent case). The base of needles carries a bundle sheath, which falls generally in next autumn. Needles persist 3 - 5 years (4 - 6 to the umbrella pine). The length of needles varies from 3 to 20 cm (see below), the longest being those of the black Pine of Salzmann (which is rather rare). Legends and traditions: In Greek mythology, the nymph Pithys, coveted by Pan, escapedby transforming into black Pine. In the Isthmic Games, from Corinth, it is pine crowns that rewarded the victors. In The Middle Ages, the chivalry novel links it to knowledge and to immortality (ex: Roland's song). The Pine fills Yvain with wonder in the Roman de la Rose. Béroul, in Tristan and Yseut, places the pine in the garden where the heroes meet and the king hides in the pine to spy the meeting. Uses: from the resin of maritime pine, the Greeks and the Romans extracted the pitch, balsams and some spices, of which "Crapula", to perfume the wine. One always picks up the turpentine and pitch, caulking (which was used to seal the hulls of boats - one says "caulk") and a comparable gasoline incense. The maritime pine was widely planted in the Landes, to stabilize the swampy ground, and subsequently to provide the paper mills. Many experiments have been launched in the Landes to fix sand dunes and dry wetlands: Father Louis Desbey, canon at Bordeaux and his brother William, collector of farms in La Teste, recommend in 1774, to fix the dunes with faggots wicker fences, planting of marram grass and brooms which would shelter from winds the plantations of maritime pines. The engineer of Roads and Bridges Nicolas Brémontier
continues to work successfully in 1786, not only on the dunes, but also in the marsh, after draining the water in the canals. Napoleon I and Napoleon III later promote those projects which are considered to be completed in 1876 (it took 100 years). Advices of maintenance: at the end of summer, watch the appearance of the red spiders on the conifers which, then, turn yellow. Water the foliage copiously in the clear water in prevention or deal with an acaricide |
Difference | Scotch Pine | Maritime pine | Umbrella Pine | Laricio pine | ||||
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Habitat | light | limestones | Mediterranean periphery | Mediterranean periphery | ||||
Maximum size | 35 m | 35 m | 30 m | 40 m | ||||
Lifespan | 500 years | 500 years | 250 years | |||||
Bark | shedding in scales grey reddish-brown, clearing clearer zones, pink-orange at the top. | cracked thick, red-purple on the bottom of the trunk, pink-orange in ferruginous red on the top | cracked reddish-brown-red with big vertical grey flakes. | clear veined of deep black fissures | ||||
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Needles | 4-8 cm, bored, bluish green, grouped by two on the stem | of 10-20 cm, right or slightly bent back, grouped by two, in semicircular cross-section. | of 8-10 cm, bluish green, not prickly, inserted by two on the stem. | of 12-18 cm, green, grouped by two | ||||
Cones | 3-8 cm long | 18 cm long, grouped by two, or more | 8-21 cm long | 9 cm long |
umbrella pine <-sylvan pine |
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