Pinus nigra
Pinus nigra, the Austrian pine or black pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across Southern Europe from the Iberian Peninsula and Lower Austria to the eastern Mediterranean, on the Anatolian peninsula of Turkey, Corsica and Cyprus, as well as Crimea and in the high mountains of Northwest Africa.
Description
Pinus nigra is a large coniferous evergreen tree, growing to high at maturity and spreading to wide. The bark is gray to yellow-brown, and is widely split by flaking fissures into scaly plates, becoming increasingly fissured with age. The leaves are thinner and more flexible in western populations.The ovulate and pollen cones appear from May to June. The mature seed cones are long, with rounded scales; they ripen from green to pale gray-buff or yellow-buff in September to November, about 18 months after pollination. The seeds are dark gray, long, with a yellow-buff wing long; they are wind-dispersed when the cones open from December to April. maturity is reached at 15–40 years; large seed crops are produced at 2–5 year intervals.
Pinus nigra is moderately fast growing, at about per year. It usually has a rounded conic form, that becomes irregular with age. The tree can be long-lived, with some trees over 500 years old. Multiple pests can damage P. nigra, including ''T. piniperda.''
Taxonomy
The species is divided into two subspecies, each further subdivided into three varieties. Some authorities treat several of the varieties at subspecific rank, but this reflects tradition rather than sound taxonomy, as the distinctions between the taxa are small.;Subspecies
- P. nigra subsp. nigra in the east of the range, from Austria, northeast and central Italy, east to the Crimea and Turkey. Needles stout, rigid, diameter, with 3–6 layers of thick-walled hypodermal cells.
- * P. nigra subsp. nigra var. nigra : Austria, Balkans.
- * P. nigra subsp. nigra var. caramanica : Turkey, Cyprus, southern Greece.
- * P. nigra subsp. nigra var. italica : central Italy
- * P. nigra subsp. nigra var. pallasiana : Crimea, Cyprus.
- P. nigra subsp. salzmannii in the west of the range, from southern Italy to southern France, Spain and North Africa. Needles slender, more flexible, diameter, with 1–2 layers of thin-walled hypodermal cells.
- * P. nigra subsp. salzmannii var. salzmannii : Pyrenees, Southern France, Northern Spain.
- * P. nigra subsp. salzmannii var. corsicana : Corsica, Sicily, Southern Italy.
- ** P. nigra subsp. laricio Koekelare
- * P. nigra subsp. salzmannii var. mauretanica : Morocco, Algeria.
- Pinus nigra subsp. dalmatica . Endemic to Croatia, where it is found on the islands of Brač, Hvar, and Korčula and the Pelješac peninsula. The IUCN Red List assessed it as endangered.
- Pinus nigra subsp. laricio – Corsican Pine. Native to Corsica, Sicily, and the southern Apennines in Calabria. The IUCN Red List assesses the subspecies as least-concern.
- Pinus nigra subsp. nigra eastern Austria to the Balkan Peninsula – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia.
- Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana Native to Cyprus, the East Aegean Islands, Crimean Peninsula, North Caucasus, and European and Asiatic Turkey.
- Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii – south-central France to the Pyrenees, Spain, northern Morocco, and Algeria.
- Pinus nigra f. seneriana – northwestern Turkey.
- Pinus nigra var. yaltirikiana – northern Turkey.
Distribution and habitat
The majority of the range is in Turkey. It is found in the higher elevations of the South Apennine mixed montane forests ecoregion in southern Italy and the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic sclerophyllous and mixed forests ecoregion in Sicily. There are remnant populations in the Mediterranean conifer and mixed forests ecoregion of northwestern Africa, specifically in the Rif Mountains of Morocco and Hodna Mountains of Algeria.
It is found at elevations ranging from sea level to, most commonly from. Several of the varieties have distinct English names.
It needs full sun to grow well, is intolerant of shade, and is resistant to snow and ice damage.
It has naturalized in parts of the midwestern states of the United States, normally south of the normal native ranges of native pines.
Oldest tree
The world's oldest black pine, located in the Banaz district of Uşak, Turkey, is estimated to be 1,000 years old. This makes it significant in the country, which is known for a very dry climate, inhospitable for most trees. It has a height of, a diameter of and a circumference of.Ecology
In Mediterranean Europe and the Anatolian Peninsula, trees usually associated with this species include Scots pine, Serbian spruce, Bosnian pine, Norway spruce, Taurus cedar, European silver fir and related firs. Several species of juniper, and various broadleaf trees are associates.Climate and provenance
Pinus nigra is a light-demanding species, intolerant of shade but resistant to wind and drought.The eastern P. nigra subsp. nigra exhibits greater winter frost hardiness than the western P. nigra subsp. salzmannii.
Different provenances or varieties are adapted to different soil types: Austrian and Pyrenees origins grow well on a wide range of soil types, Corsican origins grows poorly on limestone, while Turkish and Crimean origins grow well on limestone. Most provenances also show good growth on podzolic soils.
As an invasive species
Pinus nigra has become naturalised in a few areas of the US. In New Zealand it is considered an invasive species and noxious weed, along with lodgepole pine and Scots pine, due to their habitat conversion nature in tussock grassland plant communities, shading out the native bunch grasses as their forest canopy develops.Uses
Lumber
The timber of European black pine is similar to that of the European Scots pine and the North American red pine, being moderately hard and straight-grained. It does however tend to be rougher, softer, and not as strong, due to its faster growth. It is used for general construction, fuel, and in paper manufacture.In the United Kingdom, Pinus nigra is important both as a timber tree and in plantations. Recently however, serious problems have occurred with red band needle blight disease, caused by the fungus Dothistroma septosporum, resulting in a major recent decline in forestry planting there.
In the United States it is of low importance as a timber species. However, the fungus Dothistroma septosporum is widespread and rapidly spreading out of control throughout the United States. The species is not recommended for landscaping, especially in groups or rows.
As an ornamental
In the US and Canada, the European black pine is planted as a street tree, and as an ornamental tree in gardens and parks. Its value as a street tree is largely due to its resistance to salt spray and various industrial pollutants, and its intermediate drought tolerance. It is planted with great success as far north as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.In the UK the tree is planted as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens.
In both the US and UK most of the specimens planted are from Austrian sources, the P. nigra subsp. nigra and P. nigra subsp. nigra var. nigra seed selections. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when demand for natural trees was extremely high, its rapid growth, deep green color and low cost made it briefly a popular Christmas tree, but the extreme length of the needles soon led to its fall from favor, and it has long since been abandoned in the US for that purpose.
Pinus nigra is also used in bonsai.