''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, 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 eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. It is also known as East Mediterranean pine, Afghan pine, and Brutia pine. The name "Calabrian pine" comes from an introduced grove in the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region of southern Italy; historically this region was called Bruttium, which is likely where the

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

"brutia" comes from. ''Pinus brutia'' bears many similarities with other, closely related species such as '' Pinus halepensis'' and '' Pinus canariensis''. Turkish pine forms a species complex with the former.

Description

''Pinus brutia'' is a medium-size tree, reaching tall with a trunk diameter of up to , exceptionally . The young bark is thin and red-orange, maturing to grey-brown to orange in color, fissured to flaky in texture. The leaves are needle-like, slender, long, dark green to yellow-green. The needles come in fascicles of two and rarely three, the latter specimens showing similarities in cone structure to the related ''Pinus canariensis''. The male cones are squat, long. The female cones are short, with rigid, woody scales, long, broad, maturing from green to red-orange. They most often appear in whorls of 3 to 4, and generally open within two years of fertilization. The seeds are usually wind dispersed, dropping from the cones after they open, but some trees have been observed with cones that do not open enough to facilitate wind dispersal. Frankis believes Krüper's nuthatch assists these trees in dispersal. File:Escorça de pi de Calàbria (Pinus brutia), jardí botànic de València.JPG, Mature bark showing red-brown fissures File:Pinus brutia - cones - Flickr - S. Rae.jpg, Mature female cones File:Pinus brutia - Flowers 03.jpg, Male (pollen) cones File:Pinus brutia foliage Cyprus1.jpg, Foliage File:Pinus brutia, Findikli 0.jpg, An old specimen from Adana Province, Turkey

Varieties

''Pinus brutia'' is closely related to ''Pinus halepensis'', and female ''P. brutia'' cones have been shown to accept and hybridize with ''P. halepensis'' pollen. In the past it has been considered a variety or subspecies of ''P. halepensis''. The species is now treated as distinct, and forms a species complex across the Mediterranean with ''P. halepensis''. Pinus brutia var eldarica kz3

* ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''brutia'': Typical form, with longer needles, . Found across Eastern Mediterranean. * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''pityusa'': Found in smaller stands along the eastern Black Sea coast, near Pitsunda. Very similar to var. ''brutia''. * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''pendulifolia'': Muğla, Turkey. Exceptionally long needles, , that hang in pendules similar to ''P. canariensis''. * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''eldarica'', Afghan Pine: native to Azerbaijan and Georgia and naturalized in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Smaller cones, . Sometimes treated as a subspecies of ''P. brutia'' or a species of its own. Due to its tolerance of drought and poor soil, it is widely planted as an ornamental in both southwestern US and Europe.

Taxonomy

Italian botanist Michele Tenore described the species in 1811. While Tenore did not provide an explanation for the specific epithet, Frankis believes Tenore named it after the historical region of Brutium, now Calabria, where an introduced population has become naturalized.

Distribution and habitat

The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to southeasternmost Bulgaria, the East Aegean Islands of

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

, Iran,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. It generally occurs at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to , up to in the south of its range.

Ecology

''Pinus brutia'' is a diagnostic species of the vegetation class ''Pinetea halepensis''. The Krüper's nuthatch, a rare nuthatch, is largely restricted to forests of Turkish pine and depends heavily on it for feeding; the ranges of the two species are largely coincident. ''P. brutia'' is resistant to the Israeli pine bast scale insect '' Matsucoccus josephi'' and is a major host for '' Thaumetopoea'' caterpillars. The species covers in Cyprus, roughly ~90% of all woodland coverage on the island. It forms ectomycorrhizal associations with numerous species of fungi, and its logs and branches are excellent substrates for many kinds of decomposing organisms.

Uses

Tree on a mountain - from monastry of Semen Stolbnik near Aleppo - Syria

Honey

Turkish pine is host to a sap-sucking

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects in the Taxonomic rank, family Aphididae. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white Eriosomatinae, woolly ...

'' Marchalina hellenica''. Under normal circumstances, this insect does no significant damage to the pine, but is of great importance for the excess sugar it secretes. This sugar, " honeydew", is collected by

honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...

s which make it into a richly flavoured and valuable honey, " pine honey" (Turkish, ''çam balı''), with reputed medicinal benefits.

Landmark

The " Lone Pine", a prominent landmark tree at an ANZAC

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

battle at Gallipoli, was this species. Cones from the battlefield were taken home to Australia, and plants sourced from the seeds were planted as living memorials. "Lone Pine" memorials, based on cones brought back from Gallipoli, may use this species or

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It was officially named by the botanist Philip Miller in his 1768 book ''The Gardener's Dictionary''; he pro ...

. Some memorials utilise other species altogether.

Forestry

It is widely planted for timber, both in its native area (it is the most important tree in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

in Turkey and Cyprus) and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region east to Pakistan. The timber is used for many purposes including carpentry, industry, general constructions, firewood and pulp. In Israel it is sometimes preferred to the wider-used '' Pinus halepensis'' (Aleppo pine) because of its resistance to ''Matsucoccus josephi''. It is also known for being well suited to recreational sites.

Cultivation

''Pinus brutia'' is a popular ornamental tree, extensively planted in parks and gardens in hot dry areas (such as southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, as well as throughout

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and central

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in the United States), where its considerable heat and drought tolerance is highly valued. The subspecies ''eldarica'' is the most drought tolerant form, used in Afghanistan, Iran and more recently in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. In this region, ''P. brutia'' subsp. ''eldarica'' is referred to as "Eldarica pine", "Afghan pine" or "Mondell pine" (after Mondell Bennett, a commercial tree grower in New Mexico who popularized the species starting in 1969).

References

External links

Photos of trees in Turkey (''scroll down page'')

Conifers Around the World: ''Pinus brutia'' – Calabrian pine

''Pinus brutia''
- distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) {{Authority control brutia Trees of Western Asia Flora of Azerbaijan Flora of Bulgaria Flora of Georgia (country) Flora of Greece Trees of Mediterranean climate Garden plants of Asia Garden plants of Europe Drought-tolerant trees Ornamental trees Natural history of Anatolia Flora of the Mediterranean basin