''Pinus devoniana'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

conifer 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 ext ...

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 cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly kn ...

. It is found in more than 15 states of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

- from S. Sinaloa to Chiapas - and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

montane Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

, relatively open pine or pine-oak forests at altitudes from .Farjon et al. 1997, p. 58, Farjon 2001, p. 175 ''Pinus devoniana'', which is locally called “pino blanco”, “pino lacio” or “pino prieto”, is a tree of medium size, which can grow tall, with a dbh to . It has curved foliage twigs and very long needles, from , in fascicles of 5. The cones, which grow solitary or in whorls of 2-4 on thick, short peduncles, leaving a few scales on the branch when falling, are usually large and often curved, long and wide when open.Farjon et al. 1997, p. 58, Farjon and Styles 1997, p. 137 ''Pinus devoniana'' is closely related to ''Pinus montezumae'' (the

Montezuma pine ''Pinus montezumae'', known as the Montezuma pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is known as ocote. The tree grows about 35 m high and 80 cm in diameter; occasional ...

).Kent 1900, p. 345, Dallimore and Jackson 1954, p. 504 and Farjon 1984, p. 115 treat ''P. devoniana'' as a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...

of ''P. montezumae'' These species are sometimes difficult to distinguish, while hybrids probably occur. The cones are especially variable. Overall, both foliage and cones are larger in ''Pinus devoniana''.Farjon et al. Kew 1997, p. 58 Image:Pinus devoniana 03.jpg, Cone Image:Pinus devoniana 01.jpg, Male strobili of ''Pinus devoniana'' at Hackfalls Arboretum Image:Pinus devoniana 04.jpg, Bark

References

Literature and sources

* Dallimore, W. and Bruce Jackson – A handbook of Coniferae. Edward Arnold Publishers, London 1923, 2nd ed. 1931, 3rd ed. 1948, reprinted 1954 * Farjon, Aljos – Pines; drawings and descriptions of the genus ''Pinus''. Brill/Backhuys, Leiden 1984 * Farjon, Aljos, Jorge A. Perez de la Rosa & Brian T. Styles (ill. Rosemary Wise) – A field guide to the Pines of Mexico and Central America. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in association with the Oxford Forestry Institute, Oxford 1997 * Farjon, Aljos and Brian T. Styles – Pinus (Pinaceae); monograph 75 of Flora Neotropica. New York Botanical Gardens, New York 1997 * Farjon, Aljos – World checklist and bibliography of Conifers. Second edition. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 2001 * Kent, Adolphus H. – Veitch's Manual of the Coniferae. James Veitch & Sons, Chelsea 1900. * Lanyon, Joyce W. - A card key to Pinus based on needle anatomy. Min. for Conservation, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1966 {{Taxonbar, from=Q2744082 Trees of Mexico Trees of temperate climates devoniana Least concern plants Trees of Guatemala Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental