Pinus teocote

Pinus teocote

Pinus teocote is a plant of the genus pine (Pinus ). Except for timber production only in Mexico that homey type is also used for extraction of resin.

Features

Pinus teocote is a medium sized tree, reaching heights of growth 8-25 meters. In adult trees, the branches are horizontal to slightly pendulous, forming a dense, rather roundish crown. In young trees the crown is rather dense and pyramidal. The bark is thick with mature trees, rough, dark gray-brown, divided by deep fissures into irregular oblong plates. On young trees the bark is thin, scaly and reddish. The branches are young smooth, but soon rough with thin, reddish scaly.

The needle leaves are in threes in bunches on short shoots, rarely four; the sheaths are dark brown, 5 to 10 mm long and persistent. The needle like leaves are thick, stiff, 8-15 cm long, often thick over a mm. The margin is finely serrated. There are two to five, rarely more resin canals present. There are two closely spaced, but deferred vascular bundles.

The cones are long - oval, shiny brown with transverse cone scales keeled. They are in groups of two, three or four, on thick, short, stiff stems.

The cones are ovoid to conical. They are 4-7 cm long, light brown. You are on short stems. They ripen in winter, open soon after that and then fall off. The stem usually falls to the journal. The cone scales are small, not thickened, more pliable.

The seeds are very small, about 4 mm long, gray-brown. Seed wing is 10 to 15 mm long.

The wood is hard, resinous, the sapwood very bright yellow, the heartwood slightly darker.

Dissemination and locations

Pinus teocote within Mexico has a fairly wide distribution. You Chihuahuas ranges from the south to south along the Sierra Madre Occidental to Chiapas. In the Sierra Madre Oriental type ranges from Coahuila in the north to the south of Puebla. Reports of occurrence in Guatemala are not backed up.

This species grows at altitudes between 1000 and 3000 meters in a rather different locations. To the south it occurs in a rather dry, stony or rocky slopes, on the north by rather damp locations. It comes as well with high temperatures both with frost and snow. It grows in more open stands often with other pines such as Pinus montezumae, leiophylla Pinus, Pinus cembroides, Pinus engelmannii Pinus patula or.

Documents

Jesse P. Perry: The Pines of Mexico and Central America. Timber Press, Portland, 1991, pp. 191ff. ISBN 0-88192-174-2