Red Pine

Common Names None regularly used in English; Turkish pine, East Mediterranean pine and Calabrian pine have all been used. 'Calabrian' is most commonly used, but as the species is not native there this name is not recommended (4). In Turkish, it is known as Kizilçam ('Red pine').

Taxonomic notes

Syn: P. halepensis var. brutia (Ten.) Elwes et Henry; P. halepensis subsp. brutia (Tenore) Holmboe; P. persica Strangw. Three varieties and one subspecies recognised (4): var. pityusa (Steven) Silba (syn: P. pityusa Steven); var. stankewiczii (Sukaczev) Frankis; var. pendulifolia Frankis; and subsp. eldarica (Medw.) Nahal (syn: P. eldarica Medw.).

V. Dinets (2) reports one other variety, var. sogdaianus, of uncertain validity; see Remarks.

Closely related to Pinus halepensis (3) but also showing relationships to Pinus canariensis and other Mediterranean - East Asian pines (4).

Description

"The Turkish pine is a tree to 27-35 m, with a usually open crown of irregular branches. The bark on the lower trunk is thick, scaly, fissured, patterned red-brown and buff, and thin, flaky and orange-red higher in the crown. The shoots are slender, 3-7 mm thick, grey-buff, and rough with persistent small decurrent scale-leaf bases. The winter buds are ovoid-acute, with red-brown scales with long free tips revolute and fringed with white hairs. The adult leaves are retained for 1.5-2.5 years, with a persistent 1-1.5 cm sheath; on most trees they are in fascicles of two, and 10-18 cm long. They are bright green to yellow-green, slender, about 1mm thick, with serrulate margins, fine lines of stomata on both faces, and several marginal resin canals. The juvenile leaves are glaucous, 1.5-4 cm long, and continue to be grown for 2-4 years, mixed with the first adult foliage produced from 9 months from seed. The cones are erect to forward pointing on short stout stalks, symmetrical, broad conic, (4-)6-10(-12) cm long, 4-5 cm broad when closed, green, ripening shiny red-brown in April two years after pollination. They open the same summer or 1-2 years later, to 5-8 cm broad, though the seeds are often not shed till winter rain softens the scales. The scales are short, broad, thick, woody, and very stiff; the apophysis is 10-15 x 15-20 mm, smoothly rounded, with a slight to moderate transverse ridge; the umbo is dorsal, flat to slightly raised, 5-7mm wide, and grey-buff. The seeds are grey-brown, 7-8 × 5mm with a broad, auricled 15-20 × 10 mm wing, yellow-buff streaked darker brown" (4).

Plants from seeds of a truck garden

It is a tree with and pen transparent crown and grayish twigs.

Light green foliage.