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Scientific name: Pinus parviflora Siebold et Zuccarini 1842
Synonyms: Pinus cembra Thunb., Pinus cembra var. japonica J.Nelson, Pinus heterophylla C.Presl, Pinus himekomatsu Miyabe & Kudô, Pinus mayrii Zabel, Pinus pentaphylla var. himekomatsu (Miyabe & Kudô) Makino, Strobus parviflora (Siebold & Zucc.) Moldenke
Infraspecific taxa: Pinus parviflora var. pentaphylla (Mayr) A. Henry 1910
Common names: Japanese white pine (English), Goyo-matsu (Japanese)
Tree to 25(-30) m tall, with trunk to 1(-1.5) m in diameter. Bark dark gray to dark brown, flaking in scales and ultimately becoming narrowly ridged and furrowed at the base of large trunks. Young crown densely conical, becoming cylindrical and open with age, with slender, short, horizontal branches bearing foliage near their ends. Twigs yellowish brown to reddish brown, hairless to transiently densely hairy. Buds about 5 mm long, not resinous to slightly resinous. Needles in bundles of (two to) five, each needle (2.5-)4-6(-9) cm long, a little stiff and curved, lasting 3-4 years, dark green on the outer face, waxy whitish green or just light green on the inner faces. Individual needles with lines of stomates only on the inner faces, an undivided midvein, and two (or three) small resin canals, the two near the outer face touching the epidermis or not, the third, when present, deep within the leaf tissue at the corner joining the two inner faces or sometimes touching the epidermis on one side. Sheath 5-15 mm long, soon shed. Pollen cones 5-6 mm long, reddish brown. Seed cones (3-)6-11(-17) cm long, shortly cylindrical when closed but opening egg-shaped, with 30-80 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening yellowish brown, reddish brown, or dark brown, opening widely to release the seeds and persisting several years, almost unstalked or with a stalk to 2 cm long. Seed scales angularly egg-shaped, thin and flexible, straight or curled back below the small, triangular umbo. Seed body 8-10(-12) mm long, pale to dark brown, the firmly attached wing a little shorter than to about 1.5 times as long as the seed body, (3-)7-12(-16) mm long.
The species in named for the unusually small seed cones (Latin for “small flower”) among the true white pines in subsection Strobus.
Japan, Ullung Island (Korea), Taiwan, southern China, and northern Vietnam. Usually mixed with hardwoods on mountain slopes and hilltops; (60-)300-2,000(-2,500) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
Pinus parviflora is closely related to a group of pines that includes Pinus fenzeliana (syn. Pinus kwangtungensis), Pinus dalatensis, Pinus wangii, and Pinus morrisonicola, but occurs at a considerable distance from these in Japan. One variety is commonly recognized: Pinus parviflora var. pentaphylla (Mayr) A. Henry (syn. Pinus pentaphylla Mayr), with a more or less well-developed seed wing and flatter, less cup-like seed cone scales. Wingless seeds and hollowed, cup-like scales that accommodate them are not independent characters but form an 'adaptive complex' to prevent the seeds from falling where the seedlings have little chance of growing up under the parent trees. Persistence of cones may also be part of this syndrome, depending on the feeding habits of the bird species that feed on them and (presumably) play a role in their dispersal.
This common and widespread species is not threatened with extinction and hence listed as Least Concern.
Pinus parviflora occurs at altitudes from just above sea level to about 2,500 m, with an optimum between 1,000 and 1,500 m a.s.l. in montane forests. It is found in both pure and mixed stands with other conifers and also with angiosperms, usually on steep slopes, dry sites or rocky ridges. At high, subalpine habitats this species becomes dwarfed and some of the cultivated forms may have been derived from such provenances.
Japanese white pine has little value as a timber tree, but great value as an ornamental. In Japan, this species has been in cultivation in gardens and parks and in temple grounds for many centuries. Growth forms that stay low and form picturesque shapes are highly sought after and these preferences culminate in the art of bonsai, for which this is the most commonly used species of pine. In bonsai culture growth is inhibited and plants are slowly forced by various techniques into shapes that appear to imitate ancient trees growing on exposed mountains in a miniature fashion. In Western horticulture, the species is also popular and a substantial number of cultivars has been produced, predominantly dwarf forms with strongly glaucous foliage and some with variegated needles. Naturally growing trees of the species are relatively rare and mostly confined to collections in arboreta. Most plants in the trade under the species name are derived from Japanese garden selections (cultivars without a name).
Present in several protected areas.
Pinus parviflora ’A. A. Special No.1.’ Pinus parviflora ’A. A. Special No.2.’ Pinus parviflora ’Acto-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Adcock’s Dwarf’ Pinus parviflora ’Aija’ Pinus parviflora ’Aizu’ Pinus parviflora ’Aizu-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Aka Ishi Goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Alba’ Pinus parviflora ’Al Fordham’ Pinus parviflora ’Ama-no-gawa’ Pinus parviflora ’Aoba-jo’ Pinus parviflora ’Aoi’ Pinus parviflora ’Arakawa1 Pinus parviflora ’Arnold Arboretum’ Pinus parviflora ’Asahi Zuro’ Pinus parviflora ’Asama-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Atco-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Aurea’ Pinus parviflora ’Azuma-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Azuma-ko-fuji’ Pinus parviflora ’B. S. Teddy’ Pinus parviflora ’Baasch’s Form’ Pinus parviflora ’Baldwin’ Pinus parviflora ’Ban-dai’ Pinus parviflora ’Barrie Bergman’ Pinus parviflora ’Beran’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman Aurea’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman No.2.’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman Sun No.3.’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergmannii’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman’s Challenger’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman’s Gold’ Pinus parviflora ’Bergman’s US’ Pinus parviflora ’Betsy’ Pinus parviflora ’Biembeck’ Pinus parviflora ’Billie’ Pinus parviflora ’Blauer Engel’ Pinus parviflora ’Blue Giant’ Pinus parviflora ’Blue Lou’ Pinus parviflora ’Blue Wave’ Pinus parviflora ’Bo-jyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Bonnie Bergman’ Pinus parviflora ’Bonny Bergman’ Pinus parviflora ’Bonsai’ Pinus parviflora ’Bounty’ Pinus parviflora ’Boyko’s Broom’ Pinus parviflora ’Brevifolia’ Pinus parviflora ’Brevifolia Baasch’s Form’ Pinus parviflora ’Bunty’ Pinus parviflora ’Burke’s Bonsai’ Pinus parviflora ’Catherine Elizabeth’ Pinus parviflora ’Cedar Lodge’ Pinus parviflora ’Chichibu-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Chikuza-goten’ Pinus parviflora ’Cho-un’ Pinus parviflora ’Cleary’ Pinus parviflora ’Compacta’ Pinus parviflora ’Compacta Nana’ Pinus parviflora ’Corticosa’ Pinus parviflora ’Cuddles’ Pinus parviflora ’D4’ Pinus parviflora ’Dai-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Dai-mon-ji’ Pinus parviflora ’Daiset-Susan’ Pinus parviflora ’Debbie’ Pinus parviflora ’Dendo’ Pinus parviflora ’Diaset-susan’ Pinus parviflora ’Dougal’ Pinus parviflora ’Dr. Landi’s Gold’ Pinus parviflora ’Duchov 4’ Pinus parviflora ’Dwarf Blue’ Pinus parviflora ’E-2’ Pinus parviflora ’E-6’ Pinus parviflora ’E-10’ Pinus parviflora ’Early Cone’ Pinus parviflora ’Eigoro-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Ei-ko’ Pinus parviflora ’Ei-ko-nishiki’ Pinus parviflora ’Eilidh’ Pinus parviflora ’Ei-ryu’ Pinus parviflora ’Emperor’ Pinus parviflora ’Fenja’ Pinus parviflora ’Filip’s Blue Diamond’ Pinus parviflora ’Filip’s Little Diamond’ Pinus parviflora ’Filip’s Twinkle Star’ Pinus parviflora ’Floppy Joe’ Pinus parviflora ’Frankenhof’ Pinus parviflora ’Frick Estate’ Pinus parviflora ’FS-3’ Pinus parviflora ’FS-5’ Pinus parviflora ’Fubuke Nishiki’ Pinus parviflora ’Fuiri-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Fukai’ Pinus parviflora ’Fukai Seedling’ Pinus parviflora ’Fukiju’ Pinus parviflora ’Fuku-ju-bi’ Pinus parviflora ’Fuku-no-kami’ Pinus parviflora ’Fukushima’ Pinus parviflora ’Fukushima-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Fukusumi’ Pinus parviflora ’Fuku-zu-mi’ Pinus parviflora ’Fushiro’ Pinus parviflora ’Fu-shiro-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Futsumo’ Pinus parviflora ’FW-4’ Pinus parviflora ’FW-7’ Pinus parviflora ’Gan-seki-sho’ Pinus parviflora ’Gimborn’s Ideal’ Pinus parviflora ’Gimborn’s Pyramide’ Pinus parviflora ’Gin-sho-chuba’ Pinus parviflora ’Gin Yatsubusa’ Pinus parviflora ’Gi-on’ Pinus parviflora ’GI Nana R-13’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca Brevifolia’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca Compacta’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca Nana’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca Nana Bald’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca Pendula’ Pinus parviflora ’Glauca Saemling’ Pinus parviflora ’Green Monkey’ Pinus parviflora ’Go-gin’ Pinus parviflora ’Go-ko-haku’ Pinus parviflora ’Goldilocks’ Pinus parviflora ’Goldschmied’ Pinus parviflora ’Go-ryo-haku’ Pinus parviflora ’Gotelli’ Pinus parviflora ’Goykuri’ Pinus parviflora ’Goy Kurl’ Pinus parviflora ’Goykukasen’ Pinus parviflora ’Goyoku-sui’ Pinus parviflora ’Goyo Unkasai’ Pinus parviflora ’Green Monkey’ Pinus parviflora ’Green Wave’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyok-kan’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyokkasen’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyokukasen Sämling’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyokuri’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyo-kasen-hime’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyokuei’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyo-ku-sen’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyoku-sho-hime’ Pinus parviflora ’Gyo-ku-sui’ Pinus parviflora ’Hagoromo’ Pinus parviflora ’Hagoromo Seedling’ Pinus parviflora ’Hakko’ Pinus parviflora ’Hakkodo-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Handsworth’ Pinus parviflora ’Hanni’ Pinus parviflora ’Haru-ko-ro’ Pinus parviflora ’Hatchichi1 Pinus parviflora ’Hatsumari-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Ha-tzumari-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Ha-zumari’ Pinus parviflora ’Heavy Cone’ Pinus parviflora ’Heidelberger Schloss’ Pinus parviflora ’Helen Brown’ Pinus parviflora ’Hereygers’ Pinus parviflora ’Hikari’ Pinus parviflora ’Hime-goyo-matsu’ Pinus parviflora ’Himeko Janome’ Pinus parviflora ’Hinoko Janome’ Pinus parviflora ’Ho-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Ho-ju’ Pinus parviflora ’Ho-ki’ Pinus parviflora ’Ho-sho’ Pinus parviflora ’Hyaku-man-goku’ Pinus parviflora ’Hyuga-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Ibo-can’ Pinus parviflora ’Ibo-can-nishiki’ Pinus parviflora ’Ichi-no-se’ Pinus parviflora ’Ikari-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Ikeda-sho’ Pinus parviflora ’Iona’ Pinus parviflora ’Iri-fune’ Pinus parviflora ’Iseli Select’ Pinus parviflora ’Ishizuchi-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Iwasaki’ Pinus parviflora ’J-3’ Pinus parviflora ’Janome’ Pinus parviflora ’Janome-ibokan-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Jim Cross # 1’ Pinus parviflora ’Jim’s Mini Curls’ Pinus parviflora ’Jo Burke’ Pinus parviflora ’Joetsu-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Jo-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Jona’ Pinus parviflora ’Jyu-ji-seki’ Pinus parviflora ’Jyu-man-goku’ Pinus parviflora ’Jyu-roko-ra-kan’ Pinus parviflora ’Ka-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Kagami’ Pinus parviflora ’Kahoo’ Pinus parviflora ’Kakonoe’ Pinus parviflora ’Kamuro-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Kane-ko’ Pinus parviflora ’Kanrico’ Pinus parviflora ’Kan-zan’ Pinus parviflora ’Karen’ Pinus parviflora ’Kenwith’ Pinus parviflora ’Kiki-sui’ Pinus parviflora ’Kin-dai-shi’ Pinus parviflora ’Kin-ka-cho’ Pinus parviflora ’Kin-kaku’ Pinus parviflora ’Kin-po’ Pinus parviflora ’Kin-sho-chuba’ Pinus parviflora ’Kiyomatsu’ Pinus parviflora ’Klamagame’ Pinus parviflora ’Kluis Seedling’ Pinus parviflora ’Koba-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Kobe’ Pinus parviflora ’Kokonde’ Pinus parviflora ’Koko-no-e’ Pinus parviflora ’Kokonoye’ Pinus parviflora ’Kokuho’ Pinus parviflora ’Kokuhow’ Pinus parviflora ’Kokusai’ Pinus parviflora ’Koraku’ Pinus parviflora ’Koraku-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Koraku Yatsubusa’ Pinus parviflora ’Korea’ Pinus parviflora ’Ko-rin’ Pinus parviflora ’Koru’ Pinus parviflora ’Kotohime’ Pinus parviflora ’Kusu-dama’ Pinus parviflora ’Kyokko’ Pinus parviflora ’Kyomatsu’ Pinus parviflora ’Landis’ Golden Gem’ Pinus parviflora ’Levy’ Pinus parviflora ’Linda’ Pinus parviflora ’Little Hedgehog’ Pinus parviflora ’Lohmann’ Pinus parviflora ’Lona’ Pinus parviflora ’Maribo’ Pinus parviflora ’Mai-tsuzumi’ Pinus parviflora ’Matsumani Goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Maxi Dwarf’ Pinus parviflora ’Megan’ Pinus parviflora ’Mei-ko’ Pinus parviflora ’Mei-o’ Pinus parviflora ’MHH-2’ Pinus parviflora ’MHH-8’ Pinus parviflora ’Michinoku’ Pinus parviflora ’Middeltip’ Pinus parviflora ’Mine-matsu’ Pinus parviflora ’Mini’ Pinus parviflora ’Mini Curls’ Pinus parviflora ’Mini Ducháč’ Pinus parviflora ’Mini Dwarf’ Pinus parviflora ’Minima’ Pinus parviflora ’Miyajima’ Pinus parviflora ’Miyajima-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Miyama-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Miyoiy’ Pinus parviflora ’Mizukami-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Momo-yama’ Pinus parviflora ’Morris Dwarf’ Pinus parviflora ’M par 4’ Pinus parviflora ’M par 6’ Pinus parviflora ’M par 7’ Pinus parviflora ’M par 8’ Pinus parviflora ’M par 361 Pinus parviflora ’Mount Vernon’ Pinus parviflora ’Myo’ Pinus parviflora ’Myo-jo’ Pinus parviflora ’Na-mori’ Pinus parviflora ’Nana’ Pinus parviflora ’Naru-to’ Pinus parviflora ’Nashi’ Pinus parviflora ’Nasu-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Nasu-musume’ Pinus parviflora ’Negishi-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Negishi’ Pinus parviflora ’Nellie D’ Pinus parviflora ’Nisbeth’s Gem’ Pinus parviflora ’Nishiki-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’No. 5’ Pinus parviflora ’Oculus-draconis’ Pinus parviflora ’Ogon’ Pinus parviflora ’Ogon-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Ogon-janome’ Pinus parviflora ’O-kan’ Pinus parviflora ’Oku-no-matsu’ Pinus parviflora ’Oliver’ Pinus parviflora ’Oritsuru’ Pinus parviflora ’O-sho’ Pinus parviflora ’Ossorio’ Pinus parviflora ’Ossorio Dwarf’ Pinus parviflora ’Otori’ Pinus parviflora ’Pannonia’ Pinus parviflora ’Pent Azuma’ Pinus parviflora ’Pentaphylla Glauca’ Pinus parviflora ’Pentaphylla Kanriko’ Pinus parviflora ’Pentaphylla Nasu’ Pinus parviflora ’Pesek’ Pinus parviflora ’Pest’ Pinus parviflora ’Peterson’ Pinus parviflora ’Peterson Seedling’ Pinus parviflora ’Pumila’ Pinus parviflora ’Pygmaea Daiyo Nishiki’ Pinus parviflora ’Pygmaea Hagoromo’ Pinus parviflora ’Pygmy Yatsubusa’ Pinus parviflora ’Recurva’ Pinus parviflora ’Regenhold’ Pinus parviflora ’Regenhold WB’ Pinus parviflora ’Richard Lee’ Pinus parviflora ’Riju-Jin’ Pinus parviflora ’Rin-un’ Pinus parviflora ’Roman’ Pinus parviflora ’RU-2’ Pinus parviflora ’RU-5’ Pinus parviflora ’Ryo-kuho’ Pinus parviflora ’Ryo-ku-sui’ Pinus parviflora ’Ryu-ju’ Pinus parviflora ’Ryu-ka’ Pinus parviflora ’Ryu-roko-ra-kan’ Pinus parviflora ’Ryu-sen’ Pinus parviflora ’Sa-dai-jin’ Pinus parviflora ’Saki-shiro-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’San-bo’ Pinus parviflora ’Saphir’ Pinus parviflora ’Sarita’ Pinus parviflora ’Schoons Bonsai’ Pinus parviflora ’Seiryoden’ Pinus parviflora ’Select’ Pinus parviflora ’Selektion Goteborg’ Pinus parviflora ’Sen-ko’ Pinus parviflora ’Seto’ Pinus parviflora ’Setsu-gek-ka’ Pinus parviflora ’Shiba-musume’ Pinus parviflora ’Shi-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Shika-shima’ Pinus parviflora ’Shikoken’ Pinus parviflora ’Shikoku’ Pinus parviflora ’Shikoku-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Shikura-goten’ Pinus parviflora ’Shimada’ Pinus parviflora ’Shimane’ Pinus parviflora ’Shimofuri’ Pinus parviflora ’Shimofuri-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Shinbacu’ Pinus parviflora ’Shin-sen’ Pinus parviflora ’Shiobara’ Pinus parviflora ’Shiobara-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Shi-on’ Pinus parviflora ’Shirobana’ Pinus parviflora ’Shirogawa’ Pinus parviflora ’Shiro-janome’ Pinus parviflora ’Shizaka-goten’ Pinus parviflora ’Shun-ko-ro’ Pinus parviflora ’Shun-mei-kan’ Pinus parviflora ’Shu-re’ Pinus parviflora ’Shuna-kawa-nishiki’ Pinus parviflora ’Skyr Bruck’ Pinus parviflora ’Smout’ Pinus parviflora ’Szuma Trumpet’ Pinus parviflora ’Tai-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Taiho-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Tai-kan’ Pinus parviflora ’Taizumi’ Pinus parviflora ’Takane-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Takara-game’ Pinus parviflora ’Tamayzima’ Pinus parviflora ’Tamay-shima’ Pinus parviflora ’Tani-mano-uki’ Pinus parviflora ’Tani-mano-yuki’ Pinus parviflora ’Tayomishiki’ Pinus parviflora ’Teddy’ Pinus parviflora ’Tempelhof’ Pinus parviflora ’Tenysu-kazu’ Pinus parviflora ’Thick Needle’ Pinus parviflora ’Todo-hada-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Tokyo Dwarf’ Pinus parviflora ’Tone’ Pinus parviflora ’Tortuosa’ Pinus parviflora ’Tsai Cheng’ Pinus parviflora ’Tsai’s Cushion’ Pinus parviflora ’Tsuma-jiro-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Tyonishi’ Pinus parviflora ’U-dai-jin’ Pinus parviflora ’Un-ryu’ Pinus parviflora ’Variegata’ Pinus parviflora ’Venus’ Pinus parviflora ’VT dwerg’ Pinus parviflora ’Wabi Sabi’ Pinus parviflora ’Wako’ Pinus parviflora ’Watnong’ Pinus parviflora ’Watson’ Pinus parviflora ’WB’ Pinus parviflora ’Weeping’ Pinus parviflora ’Wells’ Pinus parviflora ’Witchesbroom’ Pinus parviflora ’Wy’east’ Pinus parviflora ’Ya-kumo’ Pinus parviflora ’Yamato-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Yatsubusa’ Pinus parviflora ’Yatsubusa Pygmy’ Pinus parviflora ’Yu-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Yuki-gon-en’ Pinus parviflora ’Yume-dono’ Pinus parviflora ’Za-o’ Pinus parviflora ’Zao-goyo’ Pinus parviflora ’Zia-no-me’ Pinus parviflora ’Zui-ho’ Pinus parviflora ’Zui-ko’ Pinus parviflora ’Zuis-hou’
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
