Pinus densiflora
Pinus densiflora, also called the Japanese red pine, the Japanese pine, or Korean red pine, is a species of pine tree native to East Asia and Siberia.
Distribution and habitat
P. densiflora has a home range that includes Japan, the Korean peninsula, northeastern China and the extreme southeast of Russia.Name
The tree is called "Akamatsu " in Japanese. The etymology behind "Akamatsu" is a combination of "red" or "aka ", and "pine" or "matsu ". The meaning behind "aka" means "red", most likely alluding to the bark color whereas "matsu" is believed to have derived from the word "to wait " as the tree was believed to have "waited for the arrival of the gods " or "waited throughout winter".In Korean, the tree is called "Sonamu ", meaning "So-tree". The meaning behind "so" is believed to be from "sol " an ancient word that means "pine", making "Sonamu/So-tree" mean "pine tree".
In China, the plant is known as "chì sōng ", sharing the characters and meaning of "red pine" with Japanese. It most likely adopted the name from the Japanese counterpart.
Description
The leaves are needle-like, long, with two per fascicle. The short leaves are 5–6 cm. There are stomatal lines on both sides of the leaf, two vascular bundles, about three to nine resin canals, and fine serrations on the edge of the leaf. Branchlets are covered with whitish powder. Male cones are light reddish yellow, clustered in the lower part of new branches. Female cones are light reddish purple and solitary or clustered into two to three cones. The cones are dark brown-yellow or light brown-yellow when mature and are dehiscent at maturity, with seed scales usually thin, and seeds winged. The bark is orange-red and cracked into irregular scale-like pieces. The heartwood is reddish-brown, and the sapwood light reddish-yellow. The height of the tree is. The crown can reach."The distribution of P. densiflora in China has the following pattern of variation: the more northward it is distributed, the needles are relatively shorter, the white powder on the branchlets is sometimes less obvious or partly obvious, and the color of the cones is lighter. It is light brown yellow".
The cones are long. It is closely related to Scots pine, differing in the longer, slenderer leaves which are mid-green without the glaucous-blue tone of Scots pine. This pine has become a popular ornamental and has several cultivars, but in the winter it becomes yellowish. The plant prefers full sun on well-drained, slightly acidic soil.