Pinus hartwegii
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''Pinus hartwegii'' ( syn. ''P. rudis'', ''P. donnell-smithii''), Hartweg's pine or pino de las alturas, is a
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
native to the
mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
s of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
and
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
east to
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. It is named after
Karl Theodor Hartweg Karl Theodor Hartweg (18 June 1812 – 3 February 1871) was a German botanist. He collected numerous new species of plants in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and California in the United States, collecting for the London Horticultural Socie ...
, who described it in 1838.


Distribution

''Pinus hartwegii'' is a very high elevation species, growing at elevations of . It forms the alpine tree line on most of Mexico's higher mountains. It grows on both the
Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American ...
and
Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
(mountain ranges) (29° North latitude) from
Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places * Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mu ...
State and
Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. Wit ...
(26°) to the highest peaks in the mountain ranges on the
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
border (15° North latitude). In the Sierra Madre Occidental this pine grows with very dry winters and a very heavy rainy season in summer, with constant frosts from October to March. This pine does not acquire the dwarfed and contorted shape shared by many species at high elevation. Even at the alpine
tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...
, this tree is not damaged by the cold and wind-blown ice present at that elevation. Consequently, ''Pinus hartwegii'' has been studied as an evolutionarily unique member on tree line
ecophysiology Ecophysiology (from Greek , ''oikos'', "house(hold)"; , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , '' -logia''), environmental physiology or physiological ecology is a biological discipline that studies the response of an organism's physiology to enviro ...
.


Description

''Pinus hartwegii'' is an
evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, whic ...
tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
reaching in height, with a broad, rounded crown. The
bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...
is thick, dark grey-brown, and scaly or fissured. 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, st ...
are needle-like, dark green, five (occasionally four) per fascicle, 10–20 cm long and 1.2-1.5 mm thick, the persistent fascicle sheath 1.5–2 cm long. The cones are ovoid, 6–13 cm long, black or very dark purple, opening when mature in spring to 5–7 cm broad. The
seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a 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, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...
s are winged, 5–6 mm long with a 1.5-2.5 cm wing. Pollination is in late spring, with the cones maturing 20–22 months after. It is closely related to ''Pinus montezumae'' (Montezuma pine) , differing from it in the shorter leaves, black (not brown) and smaller cones; it replaces Montezuma pine at high elevations, and often hybridises with it where they meet at middle elevations.


References

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External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q136695 hartwegii Trees of Northeastern Mexico Trees of Chiapas Trees of Guerrero Trees of Michoacán Trees of Puebla Trees of Oaxaca Trees of Veracruz Trees of Guatemala Trees of El Salvador Trees of Honduras Trees of Central Mexico Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental Flora of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Least concern flora of North America