Description
The Stone pine is a coniferous evergreen tree growing to 12–20 metres (39–66 ft) in height, and can exceed 25 metres (82 ft) height. In youth, it is a bushy globe, in mid-age an umbrella canopy on a thick trunk, and, in maturity, a broad and flat crown 40–60 metres (130–200 ft) in width. The bark is thick, red-brown and deeply fissured into broad vertical plates.
- Foliage
The flexible mid-green leaves are needle-like, in bundles of two, and are 10–20 centimetres (3.9–7.9 in) long (exceptionally up to 30 centimetres (12 in)). Young trees up to 5–10 years old bear juvenile leaves, which are very different, single (not paired), 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.6 in) long, glaucous blue-green; the adult leaves appear mixed with juvenile leaves from the fourth or fifth year on, replacing it fully by around the tenth year. Juvenile leaves are also produced in regrowth following injury, such as a broken shoot, on older trees.
- Cones
The cones are broad, ovoid, 8–15 centimetres (3.1–5.9 in) long, and take 36 months to mature, longer than any other pine. The seeds (pine nuts, piñones, pinhões, pinoli, or pignons) are large, 2 centimetres (0.79 in) long, and pale brown with a powdery black coating that rubs off easily, and have a rudimentary 4–8 millimetres (0.16–0.31 in) wing that falls off very easily. The wing is ineffective for wind dispersal, and the seeds are animal-dispersed, originally mainly by the azure-winged magpie, but in recent history, very largely by humans.
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