Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine
Description
Pinus nigra is a large
evergreen tree, growing to high at maturity and spreading to wide. The bark is gray to yellow-brown, and is widely split by flaking fissures into scaly plates, becoming increasingly fissured with age. The
leaves ('needles') are thinner and more flexible in western populations.
The ovulate and pollen cones appear from May to June. The mature seed cones are (rarely to 11 cm) long, with rounded scales; they ripen from green to pale gray-buff or yellow-buff in September to November, about 18 months after pollination. The seeds are dark gray, long, with a yellow-buff wing long; they are wind-dispersed when the cones open from December to April. maturity is reached at 15–40 years; large seed crops are produced at 2–5 year intervals.
Pinus nigra is moderately fast growing, at about per year. It usually has a rounded conic form, that becomes irregular with age. The tree can be long-lived, with some trees over 500 years old. Multiple pests can damage P. nigra, including T. piniperda.
Taxonomy
The species is divided into two subspecies, each further subdivided into three varieties.
[Christensen, K. I. (1993). Comments on the earliest validly published varietal name for the Corsican Pine. Taxon 42: 649-653.] Some authorities (e.g.
Flora Europaea) treat several of the varieties at subspecific rank, but this reflects tradition rather than sound taxonomy, as the distinctions between the taxa are small.
[Farjon, A. (2005). Pines Drawings and Descriptions of the Genus Pinus 2nd ed. Brill .]
- Subspecies
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P. nigra subsp. nigra in the east of the range, from Austria, northeast and central Italy, east to the Crimea and Turkey. Needles stout, rigid, 1.5–2 mm diameter, with 3–6 layers of thick-walled hypodermal cells.
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P. nigra subsp. nigra var. nigra (syn. Pinus nigra var. austriaca, Pinus nigra subsp. dalmatica) (Austrian pine): Austria, Balkans (except southern Greece).
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P. nigra subsp. nigra var. caramanica (Turkish black pine): Turkey, Cyprus, southern Greece.
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P. nigra subsp. nigra var. italica (Italian black pine): central Italy (Villetta Barrea, in Abruzzo National Park)
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P. nigra subsp. nigra var. pallasiana (syn. Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana) (Crimean pine): Crimea, Cyprus.
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P. nigra subsp. salzmannii in the west of the range, from southern Italy to southern France, Spain and North Africa. Needles slender, more flexible, 0.8–1.5 mm diameter, with 1–2 layers of thin-walled hypodermal cells.
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P. nigra subsp. salzmannii var. salzmannii (Pyrenean pine): Pyrenees, Southern France, Northern Spain.
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P. nigra subsp. salzmannii var. corsicana (syn. Pinus nigra subsp. laricio, Pinus nigra var. maritima) (Corsican pine): Corsica, Sicily, Southern Italy.
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P. nigra subsp. salzmannii var. mauretanica (Atlas Mountains black pine): Morocco, Algeria.
The Plants of the World Online and The Gymnosperm Database accept five subspecies and one variety.
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Pinus nigra subsp. dalmatica (synonyms P. dalmatica , P. nigra var. dalmatica , P. nigra f. leucodermoides ).
[Farjon, A. 2013. Pinus nigra subsp. dalmatica
]
Accessed 14 February 2025.
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Pinus nigra subsp. laricio (synonyms P. altissima , P. italica , P. karamana , P. laricio , P. nigra var. calabrica , P. nigra var. corsicana , P. nigra var. maritima , P. sylvestris var. maritima )
[ The IUCN Red List assesses the subspecies as least-concern.][Farjon, A. 2013. Pinus nigra subsp. laricio
Accessed 14 February 2025.]
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Pinus nigra subsp. nigra eastern Austria to the Balkan Peninsula – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia.
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Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana (synonyms P. fenzleyi , P. nigra subsp. caramanica , P. pallasiana , P. pontica , P. taurica ) Native to Cyprus, the East Aegean Islands, Crimean Peninsula, North Caucasus, and European and Asiatic Turkey.
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Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii (synonyms P. nigra var. mauretanica , P. nigra var. 'monspeliensis , P. pyrenaica , P. salzmannii ) – south-central France (Cévennes forest) to the Pyrenees, Spain, northern Morocco (Rif Mountains), and Algeria (Hodna Mountains).
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Pinus nigra f. seneriana – northwestern Turkey.
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Pinus nigra var. yaltirikiana – northern Turkey.
Distribution and habitat
Pinus nigra is a tree of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub
biome.
The majority of the range is in Turkey. It is found in the higher elevations of the South Apennine mixed montane forests
ecoregion in southern Italy and the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion in Sicily. There are remnant populations in the Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests ecoregion, and in the higher
Atlas Mountains in Morocco and Algeria.
It is found at elevations ranging from sea level to , most commonly from . Several of the varieties have distinct English names.[Rushforth, K. (1987). Conifers. Helm .]
It needs full sun to grow well, is Shade tolerance, and is resistant to snow and ice damage.
It has naturalized in parts of the midwestern states of the United States, normally south of the normal native ranges of native pines.
Oldest tree
The world's oldest black pine, located in the Banaz district of Uşak, Turkey, is estimated to be 1000 years old. This makes it significant in the country, which is known for a very dry climate, inhospitable for most trees. It has a height of 11 meters, a diameter of 3 meters and a circumference of 9.60 meters.
Ecology
In Mediterranean Europe and the Anatolian Peninsula (
Asia Minor), trees usually associated with this species include
Scots pine (
Pinus sylvestris),
Serbian spruce (
Picea omorika),
Bosnian pine (
Pinus heldreichii),
Norway spruce (
Picea abies), Taurus cedar (
Cedrus libani), European silver fir (
Abies alba) and related
. Several species of
juniper (
Juniperus spp.), and various
are associates.
Climate and provenance
Pinus nigra is a light-demanding species, intolerant of shade but resistant to wind and drought.
The eastern
P. nigra subsp.
nigra exhibits greater winter frost hardiness (hardy to below −30 °C) than the western
P. nigra subsp.
salzmannii (hardy to about −25 °C).
[Gymnosperm Database: Pinus nigra]
Different provenances (seed sources by geographic area) or varieties are adapted to different soil types: Austrian and Pyrenees origins grow well on a wide range of soil types, Corsican origins grows poorly on limestone, while Turkish and Crimean origins grow well on limestone. Most provenances also show good growth on soils.
As an invasive species
Pinus nigra has become naturalised in a few areas of the US. In
New Zealand it is considered an
invasive species and
noxious weed, along with
lodgepole pine (
P. contorta) and Scots pine (
P. sylvestris), due to their habitat conversion nature in
bunch grass grassland plant communities, shading out the native bunch grasses as their forest canopy develops.
Uses
Lumber
The timber of European black pine is similar to that of the European
Scots pine (
P. sylvestris) and the North American
red pine (
P. resinosa), being moderately hard and straight-grained. It does however tend to be rougher, softer, and not as strong, due to its faster growth. It is used for general construction, fuel, and in paper manufacture.
In the United Kingdom, Pinus nigra is important both as a timber tree and in (primarily Corsican pine subsp.). Recently however, serious problems have occurred with red band needle blight disease, caused by the fungus Dothistroma septosporum, resulting in a major recent decline in forestry planting there.[Forestry Commission: Red band needle blight]
In the United States it is of low importance as a timber species. However, the fungus Dothistroma septosporum is widespread and rapidly spreading out of control throughout the United States. The species is not recommended for landscaping, especially in groups or rows.
As an ornamental
In the US and Canada, the European black pine is planted as a street tree, and as an
ornamental tree in gardens and parks. Its value as a street tree is largely due to its resistance to salt spray (from road de-icing salt) and various industrial pollutants (including
ozone), and its intermediate drought tolerance. It is planted with great success as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
In the UK the tree is planted as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.
In both the US and UK most of the specimens planted are from Austrian sources, the P. nigra subsp. nigra and P. nigra subsp. nigra var. nigra seed selections. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when demand for natural trees was extremely high, its rapid growth, deep green color and low cost made it briefly a popular Christmas tree, but the extreme length of the needles (making it very difficult to decorate) soon led to its fall from favor, and it has long since been abandoned in the US for that purpose.
Pinus nigra is also used in bonsai.
As a windbreak
P. nigra is planted for
and
in the US, recommended for windbreaks in the Northern Great Plains on medium to deep moist or upland soils.
Ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal use
In Turkey, this pine (subsp. pallasiana) was and is used in various ways, both topically and internally, as well as for construction and for livestock. Among its uses are curing
acne,
common cold,
osteomyelitis, and
Viral disease; acting as an
Mouthwash; treating cracked hands and feet in the winter; and sealing wooden roofs.
See also
-
Austrian Resin Extraction
External links
