''Pinus peuce'' (Macedonian pine
or Balkan pine) (
Serbo-Croatian/
Macedonian
Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia.
Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to:
People Modern
* Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
: молика, molika;
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
: бяла мура, Byala mura) is a species of
pine native to the mountains of
Macedonia
Macedonia most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
,
Bulgaria,
Albania,
Montenegro,
Kosovo, the extreme southwest of
Serbia, and the extreme north of
Greece,
[Farjon, A. (2005). ''Pines. Drawings and descriptions of the genus Pinus'', ed.2. Brill, Leiden .][Gymnosperm Databas]
''Pinus peuce''
/ref> growing typically at (600-) 1,000-2,200 (-2,300) m altitude. It often reaches the alpine tree line in this area. The mature size is up to 35–40 m height, and 1.5 m trunk diameter.[ However, the height of the tree diminishes strongly near the upper forest limit and may even obtain shrub sizes.][
]
Use
Macedonian pine is one of the most valuable conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
species in the Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
. Its durable wood is highly valued in construction, furniture production, wood-carving
Wood carving is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ornamentation ...
and cooper
Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to:
* Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels
Arts and entertainment
* Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads
* Cooper (video game character), in ...
age. The tree is also exceptionally good at adapting to severe mountain climate conditions, which makes it a valuable species for afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests a ...
on high terrain for protection against erosion. The local population use ''P. peuce'' resin to cure wounds, pectoral, skin and stomach diseases, varicose veins and other illnesses.park
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
s and large gardens, giving reliable steady though not fast growth on a wide range of sites. It is very tolerant of severe winter cold, hardy down to at least -45 °C, and also of wind exposure. It is locally naturalised
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the i ...
in Punkaharju in eastern Finland.[
Like other European and Asian white pines, Macedonian pine is very resistant to white pine blister rust (''Cronartium ribicola'').][Søegaard, B. (1972). Relative blister rust resistance of native and introduced white pines in Europe. Pages 233–239 in Bingham, R. T. et al., eds. Biology of Rust Resistance in Forest Trees. ''U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Misc. Publ''. 1221.][Popnikola, N., M. Jovancevic, and M. Vidakovic. 1978. Genetics of Pinus peuce Gris. ''Annales Forestales'' 7/6: 187-206.] This fungal disease was accidentally introduced from Europe into North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, where it has caused severe mortality in the American native white pines (e.g. western white pine, sugar pine
''Pinus lambertiana'' (commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine) is the tallest and most massive pine tree, and has the longest cones of any conifer. The species name ''lambertiana'' was given by the Scottish botanist David Douglas, ...
, whitebark pine) in many areas. Macedonian pine is of great value for research into hybridisation and genetic modification to develop rust resistance in these species; hybrids with eastern white pine
''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lakes ...
inherit some resistance.[
]
Other
Synonyms include ''Pinus cembra'' var. ''fruticosa'' Griseb., ''Pinus excelsa'' var. ''peuce'' (Griseb.) Beissn., ''Pinus peuce'' var. ''vermiculata'' Christ,[ and Balkan pine.][Dirr, M. (1997). ''Dirr's Hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated encyclopedia''. Timber Press , page. 282]
File:Pinus peuce Habitus BotGardBln0906.jpg, Cultivated specimen, Berlin Botanical Gardens
File:Pinus peuce cones.jpg, Foliage and cones
Pinus peuce young female cone - Keila.jpg, Young female cone
Notes
References
External links
''Pinus peuce''
- information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)
{{Authority control
peuce
Flora of Southeastern Europe