Pinus armandii, the Armand pine
It grows at 1,000–3,300 m altitude, with the lower altitudes mainly in the northern part of the range. It is a tree reaching height, with a trunk up to in diameter.
Description
It is a member of the white pine group,
Pinus subgenus
Strobus, and like all members of that group, the
leaf ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. They are long. The
conifer cone are long and broad, with stout, thick scales. The
are large, long and have only a vestigial wing; they are dispersed by spotted nutcrackers. The cones mature in their second year, this is a juvenile female cone:
- Varieties
The species has two or three varieties:
-
Pinus armandii var. armandii. All the range except for the populations below.
-
Pinus armandii var. mastersiana. Mountains of central Taiwan.
-
Pinus armandii var. dabeshanensis. The Dabie Mountains on the Anhui-Hubei border. Alternatively, this variety may be treated as a separate species, Pinus dabeshanensis (Dabie Mountains pine). To add further confusion, Flora of China lists this as P. fenzeliana var. dabeshanensis.
IUCN has listed var. dabeshanensis (assessed as Pinus dabeshanensis)
Pinus armandii has also been reported in the past from Hainan off the south coast of China, and two islands off southern Japan, but these pines differ in a number of features and are now treated as distinct species, Hainan white pine ( Pinus fenzeliana) and Yakushima white pine ( Pinus amamiana) respectively.
Uses
Pinus armandii seeds are harvested and sold as
. Research indicates that these nuts can cause pine mouth syndrome.
The
wood is used for general building purposes; the species is important in
forestry in some parts of China. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in
and large
in
Europe and
North America. The scientific name commemorates the French missionary and naturalist
Armand David, who first introduced it to Europe.
Problems
19 different
Pestalotiopsis species (a
genus of
ascomycete fungi) have been found as
endophytes from bark and needles of
Pinus armandii in China.
Chinese culture
The tree, because of its evergreen foliage, is considered by the Chinese as an emblem of longevity and immortality. Its resin is considered an animated soul-substance, the counterpart of blood in men and animals. In ancient China,
Taoism seekers of immortality consumed much of the tree's resin, hoping thereby to prolong life. Legend says that
Qiu Sheng (仇生) who lived at the time of King Chengtang of Shang (商成汤王) (reigned 1675–1646 BCE), founder of the
Shang dynasty, was indebted for his longevity to pine-resin.
[ pp 297,300] The Shouxing, Chinese god of longevity (寿星), is usually represented standing at the foot of a pine, while a fairy-crane perches on a branch of the tree. In traditional pictures of "happiness, honor and longevity" (福禄寿三星), the pine-tree represents longevity, in the same manner as the bat symbolizes good fortune due to its
association with the Chinese character for good luck (福). A fungus, that the Chinese call
Fu Ling grows on the root of the pine-tree, and is believed by the Chinese to suppress all sensations of hunger, cure various diseases, and lengthen life.
External links
