Tenasserim Pine
Encyclopedia
The Tenasserim Pine, Pinus latteri, is a pine
native to southeast Asia
, in the mountains of southeastern Burma, northern Thailand
, Laos
, Cambodia
, Vietnam
, and on the Chinese
island of Hainan
.
It generally occurs at moderate altitudes, mostly from 400-1000 m, but occasionally as low as 100 m and up to 1200 m. The tree is named after the Tenasserim Hills
between Myanmar and Thailand.
, reaching 25-45 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves
('needles') are in pairs, moderately slender, 15-20 cm long and just over 1 mm thick, green to yellowish green. The cones
are narrow conic, 6-14 cm long and 4 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown. They open to 6-8 cm broad, often some time after maturity or following heating by forest fires
, to release the seeds. The seeds are 7-8 mm long, with a 20-25 mm wing, and are wind-dispersed.
Pinus merkusii, which occurs further south in Southeast Asia
in Sumatra
and the Philippines
; some botanists treat the two as conspecific (under the name P. merkusii, which was described first), but the Sumatran Pine differs in shorter (15-20 cm) and slenderer (under 1 mm thick) leaves, smaller cones with thinner scales, the cones opening at maturity, and seeds only half the weight. It is also related to the group of Mediterranean pines including Aleppo Pine
and Turkish Pine
, which share many features with it.
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
native to southeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, in the mountains of southeastern Burma, northern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, and on the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
island of Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
.
It generally occurs at moderate altitudes, mostly from 400-1000 m, but occasionally as low as 100 m and up to 1200 m. The tree is named after the Tenasserim Hills
Tenasserim Hills
Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range is the geographical name of a mountain chain in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mountains form an effective barrier between Thailand and Burma in their northern and central region, extending to the Kra Isthmus into the Malay...
between Myanmar and Thailand.
Description
Pinus latteri is a medium-sized to large treeTree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, reaching 25-45 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
('needles') are in pairs, moderately slender, 15-20 cm long and just over 1 mm thick, green to yellowish green. The cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are narrow conic, 6-14 cm long and 4 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown. They open to 6-8 cm broad, often some time after maturity or following heating by forest fires
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
, to release the seeds. The seeds are 7-8 mm long, with a 20-25 mm wing, and are wind-dispersed.
Taxonomy
Tenasserim Pine, Pinus latteri, is closely related to Sumatran PineSumatran Pine
Pinus merkusii, the Sumatran Pine, is a pine native to the Malesia region of southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia in the mountains of northern Sumatra, and with two outlying populations in central Sumatra on Mount Kerinci and Mount Talang, and in the Philippines on Mindoro and in the Zambales...
Pinus merkusii, which occurs further south in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
; some botanists treat the two as conspecific (under the name P. merkusii, which was described first), but the Sumatran Pine differs in shorter (15-20 cm) and slenderer (under 1 mm thick) leaves, smaller cones with thinner scales, the cones opening at maturity, and seeds only half the weight. It is also related to the group of Mediterranean pines including Aleppo Pine
Aleppo Pine
Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Their range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Tunisia, and Libya, with an outlying population in Syria, Lebanon, southern...
and Turkish Pine
Turkish Pine
Pinus brutia, the Turkish pine, is a pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to the East Aegean Islands of Greece, the Crimea, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon, and Cyprus...
, which share many features with it.