Pinus dalatensis, also known as Vietnamese white pine or Dalat pine,[1] is a species of pine endemic to Indochina. In Vietnam it grows in the mountains of the central and south-central parts of the country at elevations of 1,400 to 2,300 metres (4,600 to 7,500 ft).[3][4] Only recently confirmed from Laos, the population located within the Nakai-Nam Theun Biodiversity Conservation Area is the largest, at the lowest elevation, and the northernmost of the known populations of P. dalatensis.[5]
| Pinus dalatensis | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Pinus |
| Subgenus: | P. subg. Strobus |
| Section: | P. sect. Quinquefoliae |
| Subsection: | P. subsect. Strobus |
| Species: | P. dalatensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pinus dalatensis Ferré | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Description
Pinus dalatensis is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 30 to 40 metres (98 to 131 ft) tall. It is a member of the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. The needles are finely serrated, and (3-)5–14 cm long.
The cones are slender, 6 to 23 centimetres (2.4 to 9.1 in) long and 2 to 4 centimetres (0.79 to 1.57 in) broad (closed), opening to 3 to 9 centimetres (1.2 to 3.5 in) broad; the scales are thin and flexible. The seeds are small, 6 to 8 millimetres (0.24 to 0.31 in) long, and have a long slender wing 18 to 25 millimetres (0.71 to 0.98 in) long. It is most closely related to the blue pine Pinus wallichiana from the Himalaya.[3][4]
Subspecies
It is divided into two subspecies:[3]
- Pinus dalatensis subsp. dalatensis. Da Lat region, between 11°50'N and 12°30'N. Cones 6–17 cm long.
- Pinus dalatensis subsp. procera Businský. Central Vietnam, between 15°00'N and 16°20'N. Cones 13–23 cm long.
References
Further reading
- Zsolt Debreczy; Istvan Racz (2012). Kathy Musial (ed.). Conifers Around the World (1st ed.). DendroPress. p. 1089. ISBN 978-9632190617.