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Scientific name: Pinus bungeana Zuccarini ex Endlicher 1847
Synonyms: Pinus excorticata Lindl. & Gordon
Common names: Lacebark pine (English), Bai pi song (Chinese)
Tree to 20(-30) m tall, with trunk to 1.5(-3) m in diameter, often dividing near the base. Bark dark and flaking in multicolored, irregular patches when young (hence the common name), becoming progressively whiter with age until the predominant impression on large, old trees may be of a smooth, bone white trunk (the Chinese name is “white bark pine”). Crown dense, conical when young, becoming broad, flat-topped, and irregular with age, with numerous long, slender, upwardly angled, sinuous branches moderately clothed with foliage near the tips. Twigs grayish green, hairless and shiny. Buds about 6-10 mm long, slightly resinous or not. Needles in bundles of three, each needle 5-10 cm long, stiff and straight, lasting 4-5 years, bright dark green to yellowish green. Individual needles with stomates on all three faces, an undivided midvein, and three to seven large resin canals underneath all faces next to the epidermis or occasionally one or two of them away from it. Sheath 1-2 cm long, soon shed. Pollen cones 6-15 mm long, yellowish brown. Seed cones (3-)4.5-6(-8) cm long, egg-shaped with a flat base, with 30-50 seed scales, light green before maturity, ripening yellowish brown, opening widely to release the seeds, remaining attached for a year or two before falling, almost stalkless or with a short, slender to stout stalk up to about 1 cm long. Seed scales angularly egg-shaped, thin but woody and inflexible, the exposed portion thicker, with a ridge across the face separating it into a flat, crescent-shaped rim and a trapezoidal lower portion, the diamond-shaped umbo at the center if the ridge and sticking straight out in a flattened, stout prickle. Seed body 7-12 mm long, egg-shaped, the readily detached wing 2-5 mm long.
The species name of lacebark pine honors Alexander Georg von Bunge (1803 - 1890), who collected the type specimen in 1831 while serving as Russian envoy to the imperial court of Beijing and who later wrote about the collections he made in northern China and Mongolia.
Scattered in mountains of central China, mostly around the basin of the Huang He (Yellow River), from central Shanxi west to southern Gansu south to northern Sichuan and western Hubei. Mixed with other conifers and hardwoods in open woodlands on moist, well-drained, rocky soils; (500-)1,000-1,800(-2,150) m.
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
Given the wide range of this species and the higher elevations at which it occurs plus the fact that it is not highly exploited for its timber (all use tends to be very local), there do not appear to be any concerns about this species and it is therefore listed as Least Concern.
Pinus bungeana occurs in mountains, often on limestone rocks and on south-facing slopes, scattered and mixed with Pinus tabuliformis and angiosperms. In the northern part of its range it is also common on acid soils. Its altitudinal range is probably between 500 m and 2,150 m a.s.l.; records from lower elevations are probably not from natural occurrences, but from planted trees. It is a light demanding species and therefore is usually restricted to sites less suitable for other trees, especially angiosperms.
The range of this species is well beyond the threshold for any threatened category based on the B criterion. There is no evidence of a decline in extent of occurrence or area of occupancy and its habitat is in part inaccessible and not subject to exploitation. Its wood is not valued as a source of timber.
Lacebark pine is a decorative tree because of its patterned bark reminiscent of plane (Platanus), but more colourful (although in old trees becoming nearly white) and it is commonly cultivated in China as an amenity tree. It has traditionally been planted around temples and in cemeteries in northern China and Korea, from where some of the earlier records of the species originate, including that by Alexander von Bunge in Beijing in 1831. It was introduced to England in 1843 but is still not very common in gardens and parks of Europe. Of lesser importance is the use of its timber, but in NE China it is locally a source for roundwood such as poles as well as construction timber, fences and gates, and utilities such as boxes, crates and pallets, while more refined applications are in furniture and veneers. The seeds are edible and are used in traditional Chinese medicine to alleviate respiratory ailments.
Most locations recorded are outside protected areas, only one collection was from the Wudaoxia Reserve. There are probably other reserves that have this species growing in the wild.
Pinus bungeana ‘B Dwarf’ Pinus bungeana ‘Broom’ Pinus bungeana ‘Compacta’ Pinus bungeana ‘Diamant’ Pinus bungeana ‘Dwarf Fairway’ Pinus bungeana ‘Fastigiate’ Pinus bungeana ‘June’s Broom’ Pinus bungeana ‘Rowe’ Pinus bungeana ‘Rowe Arboretum’ Pinus bungeana ‘Semi Dwarf’ Pinus bungeana ‘Silver Bark’ Pinus bungeana ‘Silver Ghost’ Pinus bungeana ‘Spring Grove’ Pinus bungeana ‘The Great Wall’ Pinus bungeana ‘UCD’ Pinus bungeana ‘UNL 96 3254’ Pinus bungeana ‘Witch’s Broom’
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