Description
Pinus pinaster is a medium-size tree, reaching 20–35 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m, exceptionally 1.8 m.
The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, somewhat thinner in the upper crown.
The leaves ('needles') are in pairs, very stout (2 mm broad), up to 25 cm long, and bluish-green to distinctly yellowish-green. The Maritime Pine features the longest and most robust needles of all European pine species.
The cones are conic, 10–20 cm long and 4–6 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, or after being heated by a forest fire, to release the seeds, opening to 8–12 cm broad.
The seeds are 8–10 mm long, with a 20–25 mm wing, and are wind-dispersed.
Maritime Pine is closely related to Turkish Pine, Canary Island Pine and Aleppo Pine, which all share many features with it. It is a relatively non-variable species, with constant morphology over the entire range.
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