''Pinus gerardiana'', known as the chilgoza pine or ''neja'' is a

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

native to the northwestern

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

s in Afghanistan, northern

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, Waziristan and northwestern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, growing at elevations between 1800 and 3350 metres. It often occurs in association with ''

Cedrus deodara ''Cedrus deodara'', the deodar cedar, Himalayan cedar, or deodar, is a species of cedar native to the Himalayas. Description It is a large evergreen coniferous tree reaching tall, exceptionally with a trunk up to in diameter. It has a conic ...

'' and ''

Pinus wallichiana ''Pinus wallichiana'' is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains, from eastern Afghanistan east across northern Pakistan and north west India to Yunnan in southwest China. It grows in mountain valle ...

''.

Description

The

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated Plant stem, stem, or trunk (botany), trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondar ...

s are 10-20(-25) m tall with usually deep, wide and open

crowns A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

with long, erect branches. However, crowns are narrower and shallower in dense forests. The bark is very flaky, peeling to reveal light greyish-green patches, similar to the closely related

lacebark pine ''Pinus bungeana'' (English: Bunge's pine or lacebark pine or white-barked pine; Chinese: 白皮松 Japanese: シロマツ, ) is a pine tree native to northeastern and central China. It is a slow-growing tree In botany, a tree is a p ...

(''Pinus bungeana''). The branchlets are smooth and olive-green. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

are needle-like, in fascicles of 3, 6–10 cm long, spreading stiffly, glossy green on the outer surface, with blue-green stomatal lines on the inner face; the sheaths falling in the first year. The

cones A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines con ...

are 10–18 cm long, 9–11 cm wide when open, with wrinkled, reflexed apophyses and an umbo curved inward at the base. The

seed A seed is an Plant embryogenesis, embryonic plant enclosed in a testa (botany), protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, includ ...

s (

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trade ...

s) are 17–23 mm long and 5–7 mm broad, with a thin shell and a rudimentary wing. ''P. gerardiana'' is a secondary host for

Himalayan dwarf mistletoe ''Arceuthobium minutissimum'', known as the Indian dwarf mistletoe or Himalayan dwarf mistletoe, is a leafless parasitic plant of '' Pinus wallichiana''. It is considered the smallest known dicotyledonous plant. Description Individual shoots gro ...

Ecology

This species is listed as lower risk, near threatened. Overcutting, and intensive grazing causing poor regeneration, may result in the extinction of this pine species. The Himachal Pradesh State Forest Department has tried artificial regeneration of chilgoza pine at many places. However, performance of seedlings was found to be very poor. Pinus gerardiana India18

The scientific name commemorates Captain Patrick Gerard, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

army officer in India. It was introduced to England in 1839, where it grows well in the warmer drier areas of the southeast, but is very rarely planted.

Uses

Chilgoza pine is well known for its edible

s, rich in carbohydrates and proteins. The seeds are locally called and marketed as "chilgoza", "neja" (singular) or "neje" (plural). Chilgoza is one of the most important cash crops of tribal people residing in the

Kinnaur Kinnaur is one of the twelve administrative districts of the state of Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The district is divided into three administrative areas ( Kalpa, Nichar (Bhabanagar), and Pooh) and has six tehsils. The administrative ...

tribal district and the tribal

Pangi Valley Pangi is a tehsil of Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India. The Pangi Valley is a beautiful and poorly developed tribal area, as well as one of the most remote areas in Himachal Pradesh state. The Pangi Valley is divided into the Saichu, Hudan Bhato ...

Chamba district Chamba is the northwestern district of Himachal Pradesh, in India, with its headquarters in Chamba town. The towns of Dalhousie, Khajjhiar and Churah Valley are popular hill stations and vacation spots for the people from the plains of north ...

Himachal Pradesh, India Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

.http://www.uniindia.com/challenge-to-save-chilgoza-wild-mushrooms-in-hp/states/news/1268329.html The seed is very expensive and fetches good money to the local people in Kinnaur. Sold at approximately INR 2000-3600 ($20–$53) per kilogram.

References

External links

Gymnosperm Database: ''Pinus gerardiana''

Photo of chilgoza pine cone

Picture of chilgoza pine seed

Chilgoza.net pine nuts info
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3285379 gerardiana Trees of Afghanistan Edible nuts and seeds Trees of temperate climates Drought-tolerant trees Near threatened plants