Pinus morrisonicola

Hayata 1908

Common names

台湾五针松 Taiwan wuzhensong [Chinese]; Taiwan white pine, Taiwan shortleaf pine.

Taxonomic notes

Type: Taiwan, C. Owatari s.n., 1898.01.21. Syn: Pinus formosana Hayata 1908; P. uyematsui Hayata 1913; P. parviflora sensu Matsum. & Hayata 1906 non Sieb. & Zucc.; P. parviflora Sieb. & Zucc. var. morrisonicola (Hayata) Wu 1956 (Li 1975); Pinus x hayatana Businský 2004 (Farjon 2010).

For discussion of systematics relative to other species in subsection Strobus, see Phylogeny of East Asian white pines.

Description

Trees to 35 m tall and 150 cm dbh, usually with a single erect trunk, sometimes forked within the canopy, forming a conical to rounded crown. Bark first smooth, later becoming rough and scaly, flaking in thin plates, gray to dark gray; newly formed periderm almost inconspicuous, milky white; inner bark 0.5-1.5 cm. thick, pale reddish white, finely fibrous, gradually becoming pale yellowish brown and gumming colorless transparent resin after cutting; cambium and newly formed phloem almost inconspicuous, white; freshly cut sapwood pale yellowish white, wood rays inconspicuous, resinous. Twigs slender, at first yellowish pubescent, soon glabrous and reddish brown. Buds small, ovoid, not resinous, pale brown. Leaves in fascicles of 5, with early-deciduous sheaths, persisting 3-4 years, curved and slightly twisted, 4-9 cm long, slender and flexible, 0.6-1 mm thick, triangular in cross-section, green; stomata in prominent white lines on the two adaxial surfaces; apex acute. Pollen cones in small clusters near base of new shoots, spirally arranged, ovoid-oblong to cylindrical, 15-25 mm long, yellow when ripe. Seed cones in whorls of 3-4 on short, stout, curved peduncles, erect at first, becoming pendulous, ovoid-ellipsoid, 6-11 cm long, green or glaucous, very resinous. Seed scales thin woody, somewhat flexible, with basal smaller scales mostly recurved and larger scales nearly straight, 3-3.5 cm long, 1.5-2 cm wide, cuneate from their base; apophyses rhombic, middle portion thickened, longitudinally grooved, becoming lustrous brown; umbo terminal, obtuse, slightly upturned. Seeds ellipsoid-ovoid, 7-10 × 5-6 mm with a 15-20 × 5-8 mm light brown wing (Liu 1970, Farjon 2010).

Distribution and Ecology

Taiwan, at elevations of 300-2300 meters throughout the island, usually scattered and in association with broad-leaved trees, now scarce at lower elevations and mostly present at higher elevations and less accessible places (Li 1975). Hardy to Zone 8 (cold hardiness limit between -12.1°C and -6.7°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Remarkable Specimens

The tree shown here, in Taichung City, has a marker sign that states it is 36 m tall with a 991 cm girth. Judging from the photo, that girth is probably not at breast height, but it is certainly an impressive tree.

Ethnobotany

Serves as a minor timber tree for local use, with wood properties similar to those of other east Asian white pines. It is better known in Asian horticulture, especially in bonsai, and particularly in China. In Western horticulture it is uncommon and probably often confused with the much more common P. parviflora (Farjon 2010).

Observations

Some detailed location data from Taiwan (HAST 1999) follows:

Hualien Xian: Xiulin Xiang: Taroko National Park, Chingshuishan. At Peak of Chingshuishan, a metamorphosed limestone mountain. Elevation:2200-2400 m. 121:38:21E, 24:14:41N. A tree ca. 4-5 m tall, common.

Nantou Xian: Jenai Xiang: National Chung Xing University Hui-Sun Experimental Forest. Along the forest road to Tang- kungpei; mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest. Elevation: 600-800 m. 121°2'17"E, 24°5'20"N. On exposed stone wall by forest road. Small tree ca. 2.5 m tall; DBH ca. 3 cm; immature fruits green.

Taitung Xian: Haitung District between Xiangyang and Liyuan. Elevation: 1900 m.

Remarks

The epithet refers to Yu Shan (玉山), which the English-speaking peoples called Mount Morrison for much of the 19th and 20th centuries; it is the highest mountain in Taiwan.

Citations

Farjon, Aljos. 2010. A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.

Herbarium of the Research Center For Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taipei [HAST]. 1999. Database output at http://www2.sinica.edu.tw:8080/hast/eindex.html, accessed 1999.03.15, now defunct.

Hayata, B. 1908. New Conifers from Formosa. Gardeners' Chronicle ser. 3, 43:194. Available: Google Books, accessed 2012.10.29. I believe this is the first description Hayata published, but I have also seen the following publication cited.

Hayata, B. 1908. Flora Montana Formosae - Gymnospermae. J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 25, Art. 19:207-224, figs. (p. 217).

See also

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.

Huang 1994 (the Flora of Taiwan).