''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...
and
Cedros island
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which include ...
). It is an
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
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 ...
in the family
Pinaceae
The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, ...
.
''P. radiata'' is a versatile, fast-growing, medium-density softwood, suitable for a wide range of uses. Its
silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production.
The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...
reflects a century of research, observation and practice. It is often considered a model for growers of other plantation species. It is the most widely planted pine in the world, valued for rapid growth and desirable
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
and
pulp
Pulp may refer to:
* Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit
Engineering
* Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture
* Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper
* Molded pulp, a packaging material
...
qualities.
Although ''P. radiata'' is extensively cultivated as a
plantation timber
A tree plantation, forest plantation, plantation forest, timber plantation or tree farm is a forest planted for high volume production of wood, usually by planting one type of tree as a monoculture forest. The term ''tree farm'' also is used to ...
in many
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
parts of the world, it faces serious threats in its natural range, due to the introduction of pine pitch canker (''
Fusarium circinatum
''Fusarium circinatum'' is a fungal plant pathogen that causes the serious disease pitch canker on pine trees and Douglas firs (''Pseudotsuga menziesii''). The most common hosts of the pathogen include slash pine ('' Pinus elliottii''), loblolly ...
'').
Description
''P. radiata'' is a
coniferous
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
tree growing to tall in the wild, but up to in cultivation in optimum conditions, with upward pointing branches and a rounded top. The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
("needles") are bright green, in clusters of three (two in var. ''binata''), slender, long and with a blunt tip. The ovulate
cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
are long, brown, ovoid (egg-shaped), and usually set asymmetrically on a branch, attached at an oblique angle. The bark is fissured and dark grey to brown. When not cut short by disease or harvesting, it has a lifespan of 80 to 90 years.
The specific epiphet ''radiata'' refers to the cracks which radiate from the umbo of the cone scales.
It is closely related to
bishop pine
''Pinus muricata'', the bishop pine, is a pine with a very restricted range: mostly in California, including several offshore Channel Islands, and a few locations in Baja California, Mexico. It is always on or near the coast.
In San Luis Obispo ...
and
knobcone pine
The knobcone pine, ''Pinus attenuata'' (also called ''Pinus tuberculata''), is a tree that grows in mild climates on poor soils. It ranges from the mountains of southern Oregon to Baja California with the greatest concentration in northern Calif ...
, hybridizing readily with both species; it is distinguished from the former by needles in threes (not pairs), and from both by the cones not having a sharp spine on the scales.
The modern tree is vastly different from the native tree of Monterey. In plantations the tree is commonly planted at 4 square meter spacing on a wide variety of landscapes from flat to moderately steep hills. Because of selective breeding and more recently the extensive use of growth factor seedlings, forests planted since the 1990s have very straight tall trunks without the problem of twin leaders. The trees are pruned in three lifts so that the lower two-thirds of a mature tree is free of branches and hence of knots.
Distribution and habitat
In the United States, it is native to three very limited areas located in Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Luis Obispo Counties.
In Mexico, it is found on two islands in the Pacific Ocean,
Guadalupe Island
Guadalupe Island ( es, Isla Guadalupe, link=no) is a volcanic island located off the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and about southwest of the city of Ensenada in the state of Baja California, in the Pacific Ocean. The ...
and
Cedros Island
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which include ...
. On Guadalupe Island, located off of the mainland coast, the pines are found on the steep northern end of the island, at elevations of around , where they follow the ridgetops and steep slopes. On Cedros Island, the pines are more abundant, being found in far greater numbers partly due to the lack of
feral goats
The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world.
Species
Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...
. They are found at lower elevations than on Guadalupe, at around , on the windward ridges and canyons of the north and central parts of the island. In both cases, the pines seem to be heavily dependent on locations with a high frequency of
fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
.
In Australia, New Zealand, and Spain it is the leading introduced tree and in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Kenya, and South Africa it is a major plantation species. It is also an introduced tree on the world's most remote inhabited island,
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena ...
.
Taxonomy
Subdivisions
Two
varieties
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of this species have been recognized, each corresponding to the island they are endemic to in Baja California. Some authors
lump
Lump may refer to:
* "Lump" (song), a 1995 song by The Presidents of the United States of America
* ''Lump'' (compilation album), a 2000 best-of album by The Presidents of the United States of America
* Lump (dog), a dog who inspired Pablo Pica ...
these taxa and do not recognize infraspecies.
On both islands it is the only pine species, and one of the few tree species. Compared to the mainland species, which are mostly three-needled, the insular varieties have their needles in bundles of two. Their cones are also smaller, and they show greater wind resistance in regards to wind-induced toppling.
* ''Pinus radiata'' var. ''binata'' (Engelm.) Lemmon — Commonly known as the Guadalupe Island pine. Endemic to Guadalupe Island.
* ''Pinus radiata'' var. ''cedrosensis'' (J.T. Howell) Silba — Commonly known as the Cedros Island pine. Endemic to Cedros Island.
Ecology
''P. radiata'' is adapted to cope with stand-killing fire disturbance. Its cones are
serotinous
Serotiny in botany simply means 'following' or 'later'.
In the case of serotinous flowers, it means flowers which grow following the growth of leaves, or even more simply, flowering later in the season than is customary with allied species. Havi ...
, i.e. they remain closed until opened by the heat of a forest fire; the abundant seeds are then discharged to regenerate on the burned forest floor. The cones may also burst open in hot weather.
In its native range, ''P. radiata'' is associated with characteristic flora and fauna. It is the co-dominant canopy tree, together with '' Cupressus macrocarpa'', which naturally occurs only in coastal
Monterey County
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Montere ...
. Furthermore, one of the pine forests in
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
, was the discovery site for
Hickman's potentilla
''Potentilla hickmanii'' (called Hickman's potentilla or Hickman's cinquefoil) is an endangered perennial herb of the rose family. This rare plant species is found in a narrowly restricted range in two locations in coastal northern California, ...
, an endangered species. ''
Piperia yadonii
''Platanthera yadonii'', also known as Yadon's piperia or Yadon's rein orchid, is an endangered orchid endemic to a narrow range of coastal habitat in northern Monterey County, California. In 1998 this plant was designated as an endangered spe ...
'', a rare species of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
, is endemic to the same pine forest adjacent to
Pebble Beach
Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...
. In its native range, ''P. radiata'' is a principal host for the dwarf
mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
...
''
Arceuthobium
The genus ''Arceuthobium'', commonly called dwarf mistletoes, is a genus of 26 species of parasitic plants that parasitize members of Pinaceae and Cupressaceae in North America, Central America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. Of the 42 species that ...
littorum''.
The habitat of the pines on
Cedros Island
Cedros Island (''Isla de Cedros'', "island of cedars" in Spanish) is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the state of Baja California, Mexico. The dry and rocky island had a population of 1,350 in 2005 and has an area of which include ...
contrasts greatly with the
desert scrub
Deserts and xeric shrublands are a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Deserts and xeric (ancient Greek xērós, “dry") shrublands form the largest terrestrial biome, covering 19% of Earth's land surface area. Ecoregions in this ...
on other parts of the island, forming
zones
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
of abrupt transition. The numerous groves form a mostly-monotypic forest of the species, with very few other plants besides seedlings emerging in the understory. In some areas, the edges of the forest form a zone that supports
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean c ...
species, including ''
Malosma laurina
''Malosma'' is a plant genus which contains only a single species, ''Malosma laurina'', with the common names laurel sumac and lentisco (Spanish).Integrated Taxonomic Information System (2007)''Malosma'' retrieved June 10, 2007.
''Malosma laurin ...
condense
Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to ...
fog, the pines create irrigation for themselves and their associates. Towards the far northern end of the island, a
succulent
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
community mostly consisting of ''
Dudleya
''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers (Spanish: ''siemprevivas'') is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in mu ...
'' is found, and the endemic '' Dudleya pachyphytum'' can sometimes be found growing under the pines in the ecotone.
A remnant ''P. radiata'' stand in Pacific Grove is a prime wintering habitat of the
monarch butterfly
The monarch butterfly or simply monarch (''Danaus plexippus'') is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae) in the family Nymphalidae. Other common names, depending on region, include milkweed, common tiger, wanderer, and black-veined brown. It ...
.
In South Africa, the tree is a threat to already scarce water resources. The tree has remarkable roots. Monterey pine roots will reach downward as far as physically permitted by subterranean conditions. Roots have been discovered up to long. Efforts to remove large quantities of the non-native tree in areas of South Africa have resulted in significant increases in accessible water.
Conservation status
Fungal disease
The three remaining wild stands of var. ''radiata'' (Monterey pine proper) are infected and under threat of
extirpation
Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...
from pine pitch
canker
A plant canker is a small area of dead tissue, which grows slowly, often over years. Some cankers are of only minor consequence, but others are ultimately lethal and therefore can have major economic implications for agriculture and horticultur ...
caused by ''
Fusarium circinatum
''Fusarium circinatum'' is a fungal plant pathogen that causes the serious disease pitch canker on pine trees and Douglas firs (''Pseudotsuga menziesii''). The most common hosts of the pathogen include slash pine ('' Pinus elliottii''), loblolly ...
'', a fungal disease native to the southeast United States and found (in 1986) to have been introduced to California. When trees begin to die of the disease, they attract bark beetles which provide a pathway for infection of other trees. In some stands, 80–90% of trees are infected. If the disease is introduced in agroforestry areas dependent upon ''P. radiata'', such as New Zealand, it could have catastrophic effects in those countries as well.Sphaeropsis blight (''Diplodia pinea'') infects ''P. radiata'' in California and causes serious damage to plantations of the species in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, especially after hail damage to growing tips.
Baja California
On Guadalupe Island, var. ''binata'' is critically endangered. Most of the population was destroyed as tens of thousands of
feral goat
The feral goat is the domestic goat (''Capra aegagrus hircus'') when it has become established in the wild. Feral goats occur in many parts of the world.
Species
Feral goats consist of many breeds of goats, all of which stem from the wild goat ...
s ate ''binata'' seedlings and caused soil erosion from the mid-19th century until just a few years ago. The older trees gradually died off until by 2001–2002 the population stood at only one hundred. With a program to remove the goats essentially complete by 2005, hundreds of young Guadalupe pines have started to grow up in habitat fenced after 2001, the first significant new growth in about 150 years. Possible accidental introduction of pine pitch canker is considered the biggest threat at present to the survival of the Guadalupe Island pine population. The
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
's Russell Reservation forestry research station hosts an orchard planted with 73 ''P. radiata'' seedlings from Guadalupe Island and plays an important role in conserving the ''binata'' variety.
Cultivation
Australia
''P. radiata'' was introduced to Australia in the 1870s. It is "the dominant tree species in the Australian plantation estate" – so much so that many Australians are concerned by the resulting loss of native wildlife habitat. The species is widely regarded as an environmental weed across southeastern and southwestern Australia and the removal of individual plants beyond plantations is encouraged. The
Kuitpo Forest
Kuitpo Forest ( ) is a plantation forest in South Australia located about south-east of the Adelaide city centre.
Kuipto, the first of many forest plantations in the Mount Lofty Ranges, was established in 1898 to ensure a sustainable timber ...
, south-east of the
Adelaide city centre
Adelaide city centre (Kaurna: Tarndanya) is the inner city locality of Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Ade ...
, is a planted forest of Monterey Pine trees. west of the Sydney city centre, there is a forest of introduced Monterey Pine trees in Prospect Hill, in the suburb of
Pemulwuy
Pemulwuy (also rendered as Pimbloy, Pemulvoy, Pemulwoy, Pemulwy or Pemulwye, or sometimes by contemporary Europeans as Bimblewove, Bumbleway or Bembulwoyan) (c. 1750 – 2 June 1802) was a Bidjigal man of the Eora nation, born around 1750 in th ...
.
Chile
''P. radiata'' has greatly replaced the
Valdivian temperate rain forests
The Valdivian temperate forests (NT0404) is an ecoregion on the west coast of southern South America, in Chile and Argentina. It is part of the Neotropical realm. The forests are named after the city of Valdivia. The Valdivian temperate rainforest ...
, where vast plantations have been planted for timber, again displacing the native forests. In 2001, this species produced 5,580,724 cubic meters of lumber, or 95% of Chile's total lumber production. In 2021 1.3 million of Chile's 2.3 million ha of forest plantations were planted with ''Pinus radiata''.
New Zealand
The Monterey pine (always called "Radiata Pine" or ''Pinus radiata'' in New Zealand) was first introduced into New Zealand in 1859 and today 89% of the country's plantation forests are of this species. This includes the
Kaingaroa Forest
Kaingaroa Forest covers 2900 km² of the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand, and is the largest forest plantation in New Zealand, and the second largest in the Southern Hemisphere (after the 6000km² Sabie/Graskop plantation in South Afri ...
(on the central plateau of the North Island), which is one of the largest planted forests in the world. Mass plantings became common from 1900 in the Rotorua area where prison labour was used. In some areas (particularly areas that were formerly grazed that have had stock removed) it is considered an
invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
(termed a
wilding conifer
Wilding conifers, also known as wilding pines, are invasive trees in the high country of New Zealand. Millions of dollars are spent on controlling their spread.
In the South Island they threaten 210,000 hectares of public land administered by t ...
or more commonly wilding pine) where it has escaped from plantations. It is the most extensively used wood in New Zealand.
Use of pine in construction did not become widespread until forced by wartime shortages. It had been used in
Southland Southland may refer to:
Places Canada
* Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia
New Zealand
* Southland Region, a region of New Zealand
* Southland County, a former New Zealand county
* Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...
from about 1920, but doubts were being expressed about it as late as 1945, when at least one MP considered it only suitable for interior studding. Experiments in pressure treatment with water-soluble preservatives were made from 1943.
Spain
In the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
since the nineteenth century they have been introduced mainly in the north area in order to take advantage of their wood for the manufacture of paper pulp and for shoring work in
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
s. It is found in low altitude areas of the Autonomous Communities of Galicia,
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...
,
Cantabria
Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
.
''P. radiata'' forests have a negative effect on local ecology. In its plantations there are usually no other tree species, while its shady undergrowth does not allow the existence of a rich stratum of scrub. 13% of the wood cut annually in Spain comes from this pine.
United Kingdom
The cultivar ''P. radiata'' (Aurea Group) 'Aurea' has gained the
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...
's
Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
History
The Award of Garden Merit ...
.
United States
''P. radiata'' is widely used in private gardens and public landscapes in temperate California, and similar climates around the world. It is particularly commonly grown as a landscape tree in coastal areas of California outside of its native range, where the climate is virtually identical to its native range. It is fast-growing and adaptable to a broad range of soil types and climates, though it does not tolerate temperatures below about . Its fast growth makes it ideal for landscapes and forestry; in a good situation, ''P. radiata'' can reach its full height in 40 years or so. Though a combination of biotic and abiotic factors determines the natural distribution of ''P. radiata'', humans have broadly expanded its distribution up and down the California coast.
Uses
As timber ''P. radiata'' is suitable for a wide variety of uses, and has a resinous fragrance while being worked. It holds screws and nails well and takes paint and stain without difficulty, and modern kiln dried timber is very easy to work. It is about 1/3 heavier than dried
western red cedar
''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae ...
. It is brittle when bent, so does not have the same load-bearing features as Oregon pine (
Douglas fir
The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...
, ''Pseudotsuga'').
''P. radiata'' is used in house construction as weatherboards, posts, beams or plywood, in fencing, retaining walls, for concrete formers. It is also used to a limited extent in boat building where untreated ply is sometimes used, but must be encased in epoxy resin to exclude moisture.
The wood is normally kiln dried to 12% moisture in long, clear lengths. It is available treated with a range of chemical salts, or untreated. Chemical salt treatment is well proven and such timber is frequently used in the ground as posts and poles as part of structures such as retaining walls and pole houses. The name applied to this treatment is tanalized wood. H1 and H2 treatment is suited to indoor use. H3 is the standard house timber and this grade is used for fence palings. H4 and H5 are the standard for inground use. In New Zealand a 1995 change to no longer require boron treatment in house framing timber, was a key factor in the
leaky homes crisis
The leaky homes crisis is an ongoing construction and legal crisis in New Zealand concerning timber-framed homes built from 1988 to 2004 that were not fully weather-tight. The problems often include the decay of timber framing which, in extreme ...
, but since 2003 a series of changes have now improved the regulations.
Lower grade timber is converted to pulp to make newsprint. Higher grade timber is used in house construction. ''P. radiata'' is used chipped to make particle board sheets, commonly used in flooring. Other sheet products are hardboard, softboard and ply. Most ply is structural and available in sizes. A small amount of higher grade ply is used to produce thinner () ply suitable for furniture, cabinet work and boat building. This is knot and crack free and glued with resorcinol waterproof glue. Since the 1990s finger jointed joinery-grade wood has become available in up to lengths in a wide range of profiles.
In 1958, New Zealand boat designer
Des Townson
Desmond Thomas Townson (16 March 1934 – 15 October 2008) was a New Zealand yacht designer. As a teenager he won the Tanner Cup in 1950, the nation's premier teenage yachting championshipZephyr-class dinghies, using ''P. radiata''. In 2011 these hand-built boats fetched very high prices and were generally in excellent condition.
The bark is used as a substrate for potting and re-potting orchids.
''P. radiata'' is the most common species of Christmas tree in Australia and New Zealand.
In California, ''P. radiata'' is commonly planted to block wind or noise, or for ornamental reasons.
References
Bibliography
* León de la Luz, José Luis; Rebman, Jon P. & Oberbauer, Thomas (2003). On the urgency of conservation on Guadalupe Island, Mexico: is it a lost paradise? ''Biodiversity and Conservation'' 12(5): 1073–1082. (HTML abstract)
*
European Forest Genetic Resources Programme
European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe. The programme’s tasks include to coordinate and promote ''in situ
' ...
(EUFORGEN)
{{Authority control
radiata
Radiata or Radiates is a historical taxonomic rank that was used to classify animals with radially symmetric body plans. The term Radiata is no longer accepted, as it united several different groupings of animals that do not form a monophyletic ...