Also known as Meiren (Beauty) Pine, it
belongs to the Pinaceae Family,
with the Latin name of Pinus Sylverstis var. Sylvestriformis. The evergreen
arbor can grow up to 25 to 32 meters high, with a chest diameter of 25 to 100
centimeters. The flavotestaceous and taupe bark on the lower part of the trunk
cracks into irregular squamae. The brown yellow or golden yellow bark on the
upper part of the trunk cracks into thin squamae and falls off. The acerose
leaves grow in bundles, and each bundle, which is thick and hard, and turn flat
when twisted, consists of 2 acerose leaves. The female cone is dark mauve. The
young fruit is light brown, with reclinate peduncle. The cones are ovoid or
coniform, with 4 to 5 centimeters in length and 4.2 to 4.5 centimeters in
diameter. The cone turns light taupe when ripe. The seed, a little flat and in
taupe or grey black, takes the shape of thin ovoid or
obovoid.
It is adapted to mountainous areas of cool
temperate zone with mild climate, high humidity and never-thawy snow covers. The
mountainous dark brown forest soil developed from volcanic soil, so it contains
little humic compounds, and has a low water-retaining capacity but high
permeability of water. The pH value of it is 4.7-6.2. With a deep root system,
it is a photophilous plant and can tolerate drought to a certain degree. Tiny
forests of Changbai Scotch Pine are often found in
regions of lower altitude, while in regions 1300 meters above sea level they are
often found in mingled forests together with Korean pines and other trees. Its
florescence lasts from the last ten days of May to the first ten days of June.
Cones ripen in the middle ten days of August of the following year. The
fructification plastochrone interval is 3 to 5 years.
Changbai Scotch Pine
is narrowly distributed, found only on the north slope
of Changbai Mountain, in Antu County of Jilin Province. With a slinky
appearance, it is a preferable species of trees for forestation and is suitable
for urban greening project.