Pinus coulteri

Medium-growth evergreen tree reaching 18m tall by 7m wide. Hardy to UK zone 8. Flowers in June with seeds maturing January-February. Monoecious and wind-pollinated. Tolerates light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils, preferring well-drained conditions and growing in poor nutrition. Requires full sun. Suitable for dry or moist soils with good drought tolerance. Mildly acid to neutral pH preferred. Notable for attracting wildlife.

Description

An evergreen tree. It grows 25 m tall. The bark is purple-brown and scaly. The leaves are needle like and stiff. They are 30 cm long and in clusters of three. They are grey-green on stout shoots. The cones are very large. They can be 30 cm long by 15 cm wide. The seeds are large and edible.

Edible Uses

The seeds are large — up to 15mm x 8mm — and eaten raw or cooked. Oil-rich with a delicious, slightly resinous flavour, they were historically gathered in quantity by local Indigenous peoples and used as a staple food. The pulpwood yields a vanillin flavouring as a by-product of resin processing.

Traditional Uses

The seeds are eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Medicinal Uses

Turpentine from pine resin is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient, and vermifuge. Taken internally it is a valuable treatment for kidney and bladder complaints; used both internally and as a rub or steam bath it treats rheumatic conditions. It benefits the respiratory system and is useful for mucous membrane diseases, coughs, colds, influenza, and TB. Applied externally via liniment plasters, poultices, steam baths, and inhalers, it treats skin complaints, wounds, sores, burns, and boils.

Known Hazards

The wood, sawdust and resins from various species of pine can cause dermatitis in sensitive people.

Distribution

It is a Mediterranean plant. It grows naturally in California in the United States. It grows on dry rocky slopes in the mountains. It can grow in a range of soils and tolerates wind and drought. Hobart Domain near swimming pool. Melbourne Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 8-10. Arboretum Tasmania. Hobart Botanical Gardens.

Where It Grows

Asia, Australia, Central America, Indonesia, Mexico*, North America*, SE Asia, Tasmania, USA*,

Cultivation

Succeeds in most soils, including clay. Prefers in a light well-drained sandy or gravelly loam. Dislikes poorly drained moorland soils. Established plants tolerate drought. This species is not hardy in the colder areas of the country, it tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c. A short-lived tree in Britain. It is slow to get established but it then grows strongly. Of moderate growth in height with increases of about 30 - 40cm a year, but of rapid increase in girth, about 3 - 5cm a year. Trees grow better in the southern part of the country. Trees do not often bear cones in Britain. A tree planted in 1954 at Kew was about 12 metres tall in September 1993 and was carrying a number of large cones. The summer had been cool and damp. The same tree had another good crop of cones in the autumn of 1996 and continues to cone quite well in 1999. An 11 year old tree at Kew had two small female cones in January 1999. The fresh cones can weigh 2.2 kilos and when dried in a warm room for a year or so still weigh ½ kilo. The cones open and shed their seed whist still attached to the tree. The seeds are ejected explosively from the dry cone over a period of several weeks. The cones are 25 - 35cm long, they can hang on the tree for a number of years with their seed intact. This species is closely related to P. sabiniana. Leaf secretions inhibit the germination of seeds, thereby inhibiting the growth of other plants below the tree. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus. Pine seeds are typically harvested in late summer to early autumn, usually from August to October (Northern Hemisphere), when cones begin to open and release seeds. Pine trees usually flower in spring, typically from March to June (Northern Hemisphere), depending on the species and climatic conditions. Pine species are generally not self-fertile; they require cross-pollination between different trees to produce seeds effectively. Growth rates vary significantly among pine species, but many can be considered fast-growing, reaching heights of 10 to 30 feet (3 to 9 meters) within 5 to 10 years, depending on species and environmental conditions.

Propagation

Sow seed in individual pots in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, or in late winter. Stratification at 4°c for 6 weeks can improve germination of stored seed. Move seedlings to their permanent positions as soon as possible, protecting them through the first winter or two. Because the root system is very sparse, early planting is critical. Set trees out when small — between 30 and 90cm, ideally around 5–10cm tall — with a good weed-excluding mulch. Larger trees check badly and may show little growth for several years, with lasting damage to root development and wind resistance. Cuttings are only viable from trees under 10 years old, using single leaf fascicles with the base of the short shoot. Disbudding a few weeks beforehand can assist rooting, but cuttings are generally slow to establish.

Other Uses

The needles yield a tan or green dye and contain terpene, which rain leaches out and which negatively affects germination in some plants, including wheat. Oleo-resins occur in all pine tissues but are often not present in commercially extractable quantities; they are obtained by tapping the trunk or through destructive distillation of the wood, with warmer-climate trees generally producing higher yields. Turpentine constitutes roughly 20% of the oleo-resin, obtained by distillation, and is used as a solvent for waxes, in varnish-making, and medicinally. Residual rosin serves on violin bows and in sealing wax and varnish. Pitch from the resin is used for waterproofing and wood preservation. The wood is coarse-grained, light, soft, and not strong; it is occasionally used for fuel and second-class lumber.

Production

Trees can take 12 years to start producing cones. A cone can weigh 2 kg. It can have 200 seeds. Cones can take 2 years to ripen.

Notes

There are over 100 species of Pinus.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Pinus kulteri

References (21)

• Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 800
• Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 801
• Ciesla, W.M., 1998, Non-wood forest products from conifers. Non-wood forest products 12, FAO, Rome, p 72
• Coombes, A.J., 2000, Trees. Dorling Kindersley Handbooks p 67

More from Pinaceae

Picea glauca

Dwarf Alberta Spruce, White Spruce

Picea glehnii

Sakhalin spruce

Picea jezoensis

Yezo spruce, Yeddo spruce

Picea mariana

Black spruce, Bog spruce, Swamp spruce

Picea omorika

Serbian spruce

Picea orientalis

Caucasian spruce, Oriental spruce