Pinus pumila

Pinus pumila (common names Siberian dwarf pine, dwarf Siberian pine,[1][3] dwarf stone pine,[1] Japanese stone pine,[3] or creeping pine[4]) is a native of northeastern Asia, including the islands of Japan. It shares the common name creeping pine with several other plants.

Not to be confused with Pinus sibirica, Siberian pine.

Pinus pumila
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: P. subg. Strobus
Section: P. sect. Quinquefoliae
Subsection: P. subsect. Strobus
Species:
P. pumila
Binomial name
Pinus pumila
Synonyms[2]
  • Pinus cembra subsp. pumila (Pall.) Endl.
  • Pinus cembra var. pumila Pall.
  • Pinus cembra var. pygmaea Loudon
  • Pinus nana Lemée & H.Lév.
  • Pinus pumila var. mongolica Nakai
  • Pinus pumila f. auriamentata Y.N.Lee
Distribution of dwarf stone pine

Description

It is a coniferous evergreen shrub ranging from 1–3 m (3–10 ft) in height, exceptionally up to 5 m (16 ft), but may have individual branches that extend farther along the ground in length. In the mountains of northern Japan, it sometimes hybridises with the related Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora); these hybrids (Pinus × hakkodensis) are larger than P. pumila, reaching 8–10 m (26–33 ft) tall on occasion.

Pinus pumila in natural habitat, eastern Siberia

The leaves are needle-like, formed in bundles of five and are 4–6 cm long. The cones are 2.5-4.5 cm long, with large nut-like seeds (pine nuts).

Distribution

The range covers the Far East, Eastern Siberia, north-east of Mongolia, north-east of China, northern Japan and Korea.[3] Siberian dwarf pine can be found along mountain chains, passing the upper forest border, where it forms uninterrupted hard-to-pass thickets, also it grows in the sea bank of the Okhotsk and the Bering Seas, Tatarsk and Pacific coast (the Kurils).

It grows very slowly and is a perennial plant. It can live up to 300 and even 1000 years.[5] For example, in harsh conditions of Siberia region there are trees of Siberian dwarf pine, which are 250 years-old and older.

Cultivation

This plant is grown as an ornamental shrub in parks and gardens. The cultivar P. pumila 'Glauca' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[6]

Ecology

The seeds are harvested and dispersed by the spotted nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).

References
  1. Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus pumila". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T42405A2977712. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42405A2977712.en.
  2. "Pinus pumila". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  3. "Pinus pumila". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 18 December 2017.
  4. Fukui, K.; Sone, T.; Yamagata, K.; Otsuki, Y.; Sawada, Y.; Vetrova, V.; Vyatkina, M. (2008). "Relationships between permafrost distribution and surface organic layers near Esso, central Kamchatka, Russian Far East". Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. 19 (1): 85–92. doi:10.1002/ppp.606.
  5. Koropachinsky, Vstovskaya, 2002
  6. "RHS Plant Selector - Pinus pumila 'Glauca'". Retrieved 27 May 2013.
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