''Pinus sibirica'', or Siberian pine, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to 126°E in the Stanovoy Range in southern

Sakha Republic Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

, and from Igarka at 68°N in the lower Yenisei valley, south to 45°N in central Mongolia.

Description

''Pinus sibirica'' is a member of the white pine group, '' Pinus'' subgenus '' Strobus'', and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. They are 5–10 cm long. Siberian pine cones are 5–9 cm long. The 9–12 mm long seeds have only a vestigial wing and are dispersed by spotted nutcrackers. Siberian pine is treated as a variety or subspecies of the very similar Swiss pine (''Pinus cembra'') by some botanists. It differs in having slightly larger cones, and needles with three resin canals instead of two in Swiss pine. Like other European and Asian white pines, Siberian pine is very resistant to white pine blister rust (''Cronartium ribicola''). 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 in many areas, notably the closely related whitebark pine. Siberian pine is of great value for research into hybridisation and genetic modification to develop rust resistance in these species. File:Flowering pine cones.png, Flowering pine cones Pinus sibirica cone and shoots PAN.JPG, Cone File:Pinus sibirica Sosna syberyjska 2020-07-23 01.jpg, Foilage File:Seeds of Pinus sibirica.jpg, seeds

Distribution

In the north of its range, it grows at low altitudes, typically 100–200 m, whereas further south, it is a mountain tree, growing at 1,000-2,400 m altitude. It often reaches the alpine tree line in this area. The mature size is up to 30–40 m height, and 1.5 m trunk diameter. Its maximum lifetime is 800–850 years. File:Улаганский перевал - panoramio - Tanya Dedyukhina (3).jpg, ''Pinus sibirica'' Ulagansky Pass near Ulagan, Russia File:Ергаги 07.jpg, ''Pinus sibirica'' in Ergaki, Ermakovskiy district

Cultivation

Siberian pine, ''Pinus sibirica'', is a popular

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

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 where the climate is cold, such as central Canada, giving steady though not fast growth on a wide range of sites. It is very tolerant of severe winter cold, hardy down to at least –60 °C, and also of wind exposure. The seeds are also harvested and sold as pine nuts, which in Russia are marketed as ''Cedar nuts'' (russian: Кедровые орехи).

"Siberian cedar"

The Russian name Сибирский кедр ( tr. Sibirsky kedr) is usually translated in English as “Siberian cedar.” References to “cedar” or "dwarf cedar" in texts translated from Russian usually refer to this tree or related pines, not to true cedars.

Chemistry

Pinostilbene Pinostilbene is a stilbenoid found in ''Gnetum venosum'' and in the bark of ''Pinus sibirica ''Pinus sibirica'', or Siberian pine, in the family Pinaceae is a species of pine tree that occurs in Siberia from 58°E in the Ural Mountains east to ...

is a stilbenoid found, along with

resveratrol Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-''trans''-stilbene) is a stilbenoid, a type of natural phenol, and a phytoalexin produced by several plants in response to injury or when the plant is under attack by pathogens, such as bacteria or fungi. Sources ...

, in the bark of ''P. sibirica''.Hydroxystilbenes from the bark of Pinus sibirica. N. A. Tyukavkina, A. S. Gromova, V. I. Lutskii and V. K. Voronov, Chemistry of Natural Compounds, September 1972, Volume 8, Issue 5, pages 570-572,

References

External links

Pinetum.org: ''Pinus sibirica'' cone picture
- (''scroll to bottom of page'') * {{Taxonbar, from=Q774829 Edible nuts and seeds Flora of Mongolia Flora of Northeast Asia Flora of Russia Garden plants of Asia Least concern plants Ornamental trees Sibirica Trees of continental subarctic climate Trees of Russia Trees of Siberia