The
Turkish pine (
Pinus brutia) is a
pinePines are coniferous trees in the genus Pinus , in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Distribution:...
native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
, but it also extends to the East Aegean Islands of
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, the
CrimeaCrimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only autonomous republic of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name.The territory of Crimea was conquered and controlled many times throughout its history...
,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
,
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
, northern
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
, western
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
, and
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
. It generally occurs at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to 600 m, up to 1200 m in the south of its range.
It is a medium-size
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, reaching 20-35 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m, exceptionally 2 m.
The
Turkish pine (
Pinus brutia) is a
pinePines are coniferous trees in the genus Pinus , in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Distribution:...
native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
, but it also extends to the East Aegean Islands of
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, the
CrimeaCrimea or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is the only autonomous republic of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name.The territory of Crimea was conquered and controlled many times throughout its history...
,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
,
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
, northern
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
, western
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest....
,
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
, and
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
. It generally occurs at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to 600 m, up to 1200 m in the south of its range.
It is a medium-size
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
, reaching 20-35 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m, exceptionally 2 m. The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
('needles') are in pairs, slender, mostly 10-16 cm long, bright green to slightly yellowish green. The
conesA cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are stout, heavy and hard, 6-11 cm long and 4-5 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old. They open slowly over the next year or two to release the seeds, opening to 5-8 cm broad. The seeds are 7-8 mm long, with a 15-20 mm wing, and are mainly wind-dispersed.
Turkish Pine is closely related to
Aleppo PineThe Aleppo Pine is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. The range extends from Morocco and Spain north to southern France, Italy and Croatia, and east to Greece and northern Libya, with an outlying population in Syria , Jordan and Israel...
,
Canary Island PineThe Canary Island Pine is a species in the genus Pinus, family Pinaceae, native and endemic to the outer Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a subtropical pine and does not tolerate low temperatures or hard frost, surviving temperatures down to about −6 to −10 °C...
and
Maritime PineThe Maritime Pine is a pine native to the western Mediterranean region.The range extends from Portugal and Spain north to southern and western France, east to western Italy, and south to northern Morocco, with small outlying populations in Algeria and Malta...
, which all share many features with it. Some authors have treated it as a subspecies of Aleppo Pine, but it is usually regarded as a distinct species. It is a moderately variable species, and the following subspecies and varieties are named:
- Pinus brutia subsp. brutia var. brutia (typical form; most of the range)
- Pinus brutia subsp. brutia var. pityusa (Georgia and adjacent Russian Black Sea coast; barely distinct from the type)
- Pinus brutia subsp. brutia var. stankewiczii (Crimea; barely distinct from the type)
- Pinus brutia subsp. brutia var. pendulifolia (southern coastal Turkey; needles 20-29 cm, pendulous)
- Pinus brutia subsp. eldarica (Eldar Pine; Azerbaijan; needles 8-14 cm, cones 5-9 cm).
The Eldar Pine is treated as a species (
Pinus eldarica) by some authors; it is adapted to a drier climate with a summer rainfall peak, whereas subsp.
brutia is adapted to a climate with mainly winter rainfall.
Turkish Pine is host to a sap-sucking
aphidAphids, also known as plant lice , are small plant-eating insects, and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Aphids are among the most destructive insect pests on cultivated plants in temperate regions...
Marchalina hellenicaMarchalina hellenica is an insect that lives in the eastern Mediterranean region, mainly in Greece and Turkey. It lives by sucking the sap of pine trees, mainly the Turkish Pine and, to smaller extent, Aleppo Pine , Scots Pine and Stone Pine...
. Under normal circumstances, this
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
does no significant damage to the pine, but is of great importance for the excess sugar it secretes. This sugar, "
honeydewHoneydew is a sugar-rich sticky substance, secreted by aphids and some scale insects as they feed on plant sap. When their mouthpart penetrates the phloem, the sugary, high-pressure liquid is forced out of the gut's terminal opening. Honeydew is particularly common as a secretion in the Hemipteran...
", is collected by Honeybees which make it into a richly flavoured and valuable
honeyHoney is a sweet food made by some insects using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, "pine honey" (Turkish,
çam balı), with reputed medicinal benefits.
The
Krüper's NuthatchThe Krüper's Nuthatch, Sitta krueperi, is a small nuthatch found in south east Europe and south-west Asia.It occurs in Turkey, Georgia, Russia and on the Greek island of Lesvos....
, a rare
nuthatchThe nuthatches are a genus, Sitta, of small passerine birds belonging to the family Sittidae. Characterised by large heads, short tails, and powerful bills and feet, nuthatches advertise their territory using loud, simple songs...
, is largely restricted to forests of Turkish Pine and depends heavily on it for feeding; the ranges of the two species are largely coincident.
The "
Lone PineThe Lone Pine was the name given to a solitary tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine in 1915...
", a prominent landmark tree at an
ANZACThe term ANZAC originated as an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, an army corps of Australian and New Zealand troops who fought against the Turks in 1915 at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I...
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
battle at
GallipoliThe Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east...
, was this species. Cones from the battlefield were taken home to Australia, and plants sourced from the seeds were planted as living memorials.
It is widely planted for timber, both in its native area (it is the most important tree in
forestryForestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable continuation of environmental supplies and services...
in Turkey) and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region east to
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. It is also a popular ornamental tree, extensively planted in parks and gardens in hot dry areas (such as southern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
,
ArizonaThe State of Arizona is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix. The second largest city is Tucson, followed in size by the four Phoenix metropolitan area cities of Mesa, Glendale, Chandler, and Scottsdale.Arizona was the 48th and...
, and west and central
TexasTexas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
), where its considerable heat and drought tolerance is highly valued. The subspecies
eldarica is the most drought tolerant form, used in
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
,
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
and more recently in Arizona, California, and Texas. In the United States subsp.
eldarica is usually referred to as either "Eldarica Pine" or "Afghan Pine".
Turkish Pine is also known by several other names,
Calabrian Pine (from a naturalised population of the pine in
CalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian peninsula. It is bounded to the north by the region of Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and to the east by the...
in southern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, from where the pine was first botanically described),
East Mediterranean Pine and
Brutia Pine.