Pinus radiate
commonly known as Monterey Pine also known as Radita Pine or Insignis Pine.
It’s a three-needled conifer with striking bright-green luxuriant foliage. It
is a native of a very limited area of wet winters and hot dry summers, the
Monterey Peninsula of southern California.
P. radiate is a
coniferous evergreen tree growing to 15 – 30 m (50 – 100 ft) in height, but
some time grows up to 60 m (200 ft).
The young shoots soon
become green. The winter buds are light brown, up to 2 cm long, sharply pointed
and resinous. The bright emerald green needles are slender, 10-15 cm long,
somewhat curved, usually in threes, but occasionally in pairs. They are bound
together at their base by a sheath consisting of membranous scales.
The flowers of both
sexes are found on the same tree. The male catkins are small, and yellow in
late March. The female flowers may be solitary or in small clusters. The cones
are asymmetrical, being flattened 7-13 cm long, glossy, woody and
greyish-brown. They are often in clusters of three to five and persist on the
trees for an indefinite time, usually not opening for several years.
The
bark of mature trees is dark brown, thick, and deeply fissured, peeling off in
broad scales. The coarse timber is inferior, is
used in house construction as weatherboards, posts, beams or plywood, in
fencing, retaining walls, for concrete formers. It is also used to a limited
extent in boat building where untreated ply is sometimes used, but must be
encased in epoxy resin to exclude moisture, boxes and paper pulp.
This pine has no
commercial future anywhere in Britain but in South Africa, Australia, New
Zealand and Spain it is cultivated on an extensive scale, making phenomenally
fast growth.
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| Pinus radiata – Monterey Pine as Ornamental Plant |
