''Pinus peuce'' (Macedonian pine or Balkan pine) (

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

and Macedonian: молика, molika; Bulgarian: бяла мура, byala mura) is a species of

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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

native to the mountains of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, the extreme southwest of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, and the extreme north of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

,Farjon, A. (2005). ''Pines. Drawings and descriptions of the genus Pinus'', ed.2. Brill, Leiden .Gymnosperm Databas
''Pinus peuce''
/ref> growing typically at (600-) 1,000-2,200 (-2,300) m altitude. It often reaches the alpine

tree line The tree line is the edge of a habitat at which trees are capable of growing and beyond which they are not. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually low ...

in this area. The mature size is up to 35–40 m height, and 1.5 m trunk diameter. However, the height of the tree diminishes strongly near the upper tree line and may even obtain shrub sizes. It is a member of the white pine group, ''

Pinus 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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as c ...

'' subgenus '' Strobus'', and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. They are 6–11 cm long. Its pine cones are mostly 8–16 cm long, occasionally up to 20 cm long, green at first, becoming yellow-brown when mature, with broad, flat to downcurved scales. The 6–7 mm long

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s have a 2 cm wing and can be wind-dispersed, but are also very often dispersed by spotted nutcrackers. The species was first described in scientific literature by

August Grisebach August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach (; 17 April 18149 May 1879) was a German botanist and phytogeographer. Biography Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the cloister-school at Ilfeld, and the University of Göttingen. He graduated in me ...

in 1844, based on field observations of montane pines on Baba Mountain, above Bitola.

Use

Macedonian pine is one of the most valuable

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

species in the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. Its durable wood is highly valued in

construction Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...

, furniture production, wood-carving and cooperage. The tree is also exceptionally good at adapting to severe mountain climate conditions, which makes it a valuable species for afforestation on high terrain for protection against

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. The local population use ''P. peuce''

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

to cure wounds, pectoral, skin and stomach diseases, varicose veins and other illnesses. Macedonian pine is also a popular ornamental tree in

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s and large

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, giving reliable steady though not fast growth on a wide range of sites. It is very tolerant of severe winter cold, hardy down to at least -45 °C, and also of wind exposure. It is locally naturalised in

Punkaharju Punkaharju is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Savonlinna on January 1, 2013. It was located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region In geography, regions, otherwise ...

in eastern Finland. Like other European and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n white pines, Macedonian pine is very resistant to white pine blister rust (''Cronartium ribicola'').Søegaard, B. (1972). Relative blister rust resistance of native and introduced white pines in Europe. Pages 233–239 in Bingham, R. T. et al., eds. Biology of Rust Resistance in Forest Trees. ''U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Misc. Publ''. 1221.Popnikola, N., M. Jovancevic, and M. Vidakovic. 1978. Genetics of Pinus peuce Gris. ''Annales Forestales'' 7/6: 187-206. This fungal disease was accidentally introduced from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

into

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where it has caused severe mortality in the American native white pines (e.g. western white pine, sugar pine, whitebark pine) in many areas. Macedonian pine is of great value for research into hybridisation and genetic modification to develop rust resistance in these species; hybrids with

eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada, west through the Great Lake ...

inherit some resistance.

Other

Synonyms include ''Pinus cembra'' var. ''fruticosa'' Griseb., ''Pinus excelsa'' var. ''peuce'' (Griseb.) Beissn., ''Pinus peuce'' var. ''vermiculata'' Christ, and Balkan pine.Dirr, M. (1997). ''Dirr's Hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated encyclopedia''. Timber Press , page. 282 File:Pinus peuce Habitus BotGardBln0906.jpg, Cultivated specimen, Berlin Botanical Gardens File:Pinus peuce cones.jpg, Foliage and cones Pinus peuce young female cone - Keila.jpg, Young female cone

References

External links

''Pinus peuce''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) {{Authority control peuce Flora of Southeastern Europe Flora of Europe Trees of Europe Taxa named by August Grisebach