''Pinus cembra'', also known as Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine, Arolla pine, Austrian stone pine, or just stone 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. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

in the subgenus ''Strobus''.

Description

The Swiss pine is a member of the

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

group, ''Pinus'' subgenus ''Strobus'', and like all members of that group, the

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. The mature size is typically between and in height, and the trunk diameter can be up to . However, it grows very slowly and it may take 30 years for the tree to reach . The

cones In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the ''apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, ...

, which contain the seeds (or nuts), of the Swiss pine are to long. Cones take 2 years (24 months) to mature. The to long

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s have only a vestigial wing and are dispersed by spotted nutcrackers. The species is long-lasting and can reach an age between 500 and 1000 years. In its natural environment, this tree usually reaches reproductive maturity at the age of 50 years (even 80 years, if the conditions are more extreme). The very similar

Siberian pine ''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, and from Igarka at 68°N in the l ...

(''Pinus sibirica'') is treated as a variety or subspecies of Swiss pine by some botanists. The Siberian pine differs in having slightly larger cones, being more massive (taller, wider trunk), having a faster growth rate and needles with three

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

canals instead of two as in the Swiss pine. File:Pinus cembra cones in Gröden crop.jpg, Cones of ''Pinus cembra'' File:Fresh Pinus cembra cone in June.jpg, Close-up of an immature cone from a cultivated ''Pinus cembra'' File:Pinus cembra cone dried.jpg, Close-up of a mature cone from a cultivated ''Pinus cembra'' File:Pinus cembra seedling planted for pine nut production.jpg, 5-year-old ''Pinus cembra'' seedling planted for

pine nut Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locall ...

production,

Baldone Baldone (; ) is a town in Ķekava Municipality, in the Semigallia region of Latvia. The town is famous for its sulfur water springs and was a spa resort. Viktors Arājs was born here in 1910. Gallery File:Mercendarbes muiža.jpg, Mencendarb ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

File:Bark of an young Arolla pine.jpg,

Bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

of a young ''Pinus cembra'', National Botanic Garden of Latvia File:Pinus cembra coupe MHNT.jpg, Cross-section of ''Pinus cembra'' - 181 years - MHNT File:Swiss pine (Pinus cembra) 'Columnaris' cone.jpg, ''Pinus cembra'' 'Columnaris' (cultivar) one year-old cone and foliage

Distribution and habitat

The Swiss pine grows in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

and

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

of central

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

( Tatra Mountains),

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

( Tatra Mountains),

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It typically grows at to altitude. It often reaches the alpine tree line in this area. File:Odles Cisles y Mastle pinus Cembra.jpg, ''Pinus cembra'' with ''

Rhododendron ferrugineum ''Rhododendron ferrugineum'', the alpenrose, snow-rose, or rusty-leaved alpenrose is an evergreen shrub that grows just above the tree line in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura mountains, Jura and northern Apennine Mountains, Apennines, on acid soils. It ...

'' on the trail to the ''Furcela Piza'' with the Odles Group and the Mastlé Mountain, Puez-Geisler Nature Park,

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

File:Hochrindl Larix decidua Pinus cembra 21102013 169.jpg, Autumnal ''

Larix decidua ''Larix decidua'', the European larch, is a species of larch native to the mountains of central Europe, in the Alps and Carpathian Mountains, with small disjunct lowland populations in northern Poland. Its life span has been confirmed to be clos ...

'' (yellow), ''Pinus cembra'' (dark green, wide), and ''

Picea abies ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, ...

'' (dark green, slender) landscape.

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

File:Tamangur.jpg, In Tamangur forest.

Scuol Scuol () is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Engiadina Bassa/Val Müstair Region in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grisons. The official language in Scuol is Romansh language, Romansh. On 1 January 2 ...

Ecology

Swiss pine associates with numerous species of

mycorrhizal fungi A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

from a young age, usually from the genus ''

Suillus ''Suillus'' is a genus of basidiomycete fungi in the family Suillaceae and order Boletales. Species in the genus are associated with trees in the pine family (Pinaceae), and are mostly distributed in temperate locations in the Northern Hemisphe ...

''. This

symbiosis Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

improves the tree's growth and survival rate.

Uses

Swiss pine is a popular ornamental tree in

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

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, giving steady though not fast growth on a wide range of sites where the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

is cold. It is very tolerant of severe winter cold, hardy down to at least , and also of wind exposure. The seeds are also harvested and sold as

s. When cultivated, it will likely start producing cones after the age of 12 years, much faster than in the wild. This depends on the climate, soil type,

mycorrhiza A mycorrhiza (; , mycorrhiza, or mycorrhizas) is a symbiotic association between a fungus and a plant. The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungus in the plant's rhizosphere, the plant root system and its surroundings. Mycorrhizae play ...

l fungi etc. To make the tree bear cones faster, the tree can be inoculated with

ectomycorrhiza An ectomycorrhiza (from Greek ἐκτός ', "outside", μύκης ', "fungus", and ῥίζα ', "root"; ectomycorrhizas or ectomycorrhizae, abbreviated EcM) is a form of symbiotic relationship that occurs between a fungal symbiont, or mycobio ...

l fungi, such as ''

Suillus luteus ''Suillus luteus'' is a bolete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Suillus''. Commonly referred to as slippery jack or sticky bun in English-speaking countries, its names refer to the brown pileus (mycology), cap, which is characterist ...

, Suillus americanus,

Suillus placidus ''Suillus placidus'', is a species of fungus in the genus '' Suillus''. It is an edible pored mushroom found in European and North American coniferous forests, growing in association with several species of pine of the subgenus ''Strobus''. Des ...

'' etc. These are the most effective. Pinoli pino cembro sgusciati e da sgusciare

Pine cones cut into slices are used to flavor

schnapps Schnapps ( or ) or schnaps is a type of alcoholic beverage that may take several forms, including distilled fruit brandies, herbal liqueurs, infusions, and "flavored liqueurs" made by adding fruit syrups, spices, or artificial flavorings to ...

, which is then sold as "Zirbenschnaps" or "Zirbeler" schnapps. The wood is the most used for carvings in

Val Gardena Val Gardena (; ; ) is a valley in the Dolomites of South Tyrol, Northern Italy. It is best known as a tourist skiing, rock climbing, and woodcarving area. Geography The valley's main river is the Derjon, a tributary of the Eisack river. The ...

since the 17th century. The cone of the Swiss pine was the

field sign A field sign is an unofficial differentiating mark worn on a combatant's clothing to show the difference between friend and foe or a combatant and a civilian. Examples *A tabard in the livery colors of a lord and bearing his coat of arms was a ...

of the

Roman legion The Roman legion (, ) was the largest military List of military legions, unit of the Roman army, composed of Roman citizenship, Roman citizens serving as legionary, legionaries. During the Roman Republic the manipular legion comprised 4,200 i ...

stationed in

Rhaetia Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west wit ...

in 15 BC, and hence it is used as the

heraldic charge In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an '' escutcheon'' (shield). That may be a geometric design (sometimes called an '' ordinary'') or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object, building, or o ...

(known as ''Zirbelnuss'' in German) in the coat of arms of the city of

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, the site of the Roman fort

Augusta Vindelicorum Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and the regional seat of the Swabia with a well preserved Altstadt (historical city centre). Augsburg ...

. It is also a species that is often used in bonsai. ''Pinus cembra'' can be found in the uppermost forest belt where it helps to minimize the risk of avalanches and soil erosion. Due to this ability, the tree is valued as a stabilizing factor for afforestation projects at high elevations. Like other European and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n white pines, Swiss pine is very resistant to

white pine blister rust ''Cronartium ribicola'' is a species of rust (fungus), rust fungus in the family Cronartiaceae that causes the disease white pine blister rust. Other names include: (French), (German), (Spanish). Origin ''Cronartium ribicola'' is native to C ...

(''Cronartium ribicola''). This fungal disease was accidentally introduced from

into

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, where it has caused severe mortality in the American native white pines in many areas, notably, Western white pine and the closely related

whitebark pine ''Pinus albicaulis'', known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine ...

. Swiss pine is of great value for research into hybridization to develop rust resistance in these species.

References

External links

Swiss Stone Pine – Portrait of a Mountain Forest Tree
in ''waldwissen.net''

Link to Joanneum Research Study

Folder Joanneum Research: Stone Pine - Positive health effects of Stone Pine furniture

''Pinus cembra''
- distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources.

European Forest Genetic Resources Programme European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that promotes the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe as an integral part of sustainable forest management. It was established ...

(EUFORGEN) {{Authority control Edible nuts and seeds Flora of Poland Least concern plants

Cembra Cembra was a ''comune'' (municipality) in Trentino in the northern Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about northeast of Trento. On 1 January 2016 it was merged with Lisignago to form a new municipality, Cembra Lisignago Cem ...

Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Trees of Europe Flora of France Flora of the Alps Flora of the Carpathians