Aleppo Pine

Appearance

''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, 15–25 m tall, with a trunk diameter up to 60 cm, exceptionally up to 1 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 leaves are very slender, 6–12 cm long, distinctly yellowish green, and produced in pairs. The cones are narrow conic, 5–12 cm long and 2–3 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old.

They open slowly over the next few years, a process quickened if they are exposed to heat such as in forest fires. The cones open 5–8 cm wide to allow the seeds to disperse. The seeds are 5–6 mm long, with a 20-mm wing, and are wind-dispersed.

Naming

The Aleppo pine is closely related to the Turkish pine, Canary Island pine, and maritime pine, which all share many of its characteristics. Some authors include the Turkish pine as a subspecies of the Aleppo pine, as ''Pinus halepensis'' subsp. ''brutia'' Holmboe, but it is usually regarded as a distinct species. It is a relatively nonvariable species, in that its morphological characteristics stay constant over the entire range.

Distribution

''Pinus halepensis'' is generally found at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to 200 m, but can grow above 1,000 m in southern and eastern Spain, well over 1,200 m on Crete, and up to 1,700 m in the south, in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

The tree is able to quickly colonize open and disturbed areas. It can grow on all substrates and almost in all bioclimates in the Mediterranean.

Uses

The resin of the Aleppo pine is used to flavor the Greek wine retsina.

From the pine nuts of the Aleppo pine is made a pudding called ''asidet zgougou'' in the Tunisian dialect; it is served in bowls, covered with cream, and topped with almonds and small candies.

Aleppo pine are used for bonsai.

Cultural

Paul Cézanne had an Aleppo pine in his garden at Aix-en-Provence; this tree was the inspiration and model for his painting ''The Big Trees''. As of 2005, the tree is still growing in Cézanne's garden.