Pinus parviflora
Pinus parviflora, also known as Japanese white pine, is a pine in the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, native to Japan.
Description
It is a coniferous evergreen tree, growing to 15–25 m in height, forming a wide, dense, conical crown. The leaves are needle-like, in bundles of five, with a length of 3–7 cm. The cones are 4–8 cm long, with broad, rounded scales; the seeds are 7–10 mm long, with a vestigial 3–10 mm wing.Taxonomy
Two varieties are usually accepted; var. parviflora in southern Japan, and var. pentaphylla A.Henry in northern Japan. The second variety was first described as a separate species Pinus pentaphylla by Heinrich Mayr in 1890, but in reducing it to the rank of variety in 1910, Augustine Henry pointed out that the differences cited by Mayr between the two were minimal and inconsistent, with much overlap.At higher altitudes in northern Japan, it can occur with the related high altutude species Pinus pumila, and sometimes produces hybrids with it; these are known as Pinus × hakkodensis Makino, named after the Hakkōda Mountains where it was first found.
The Latin specific epithet parviflora means "with small flowers".