Pinus mugo

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Pinus mugo, known as dwarf mountain pine,<ref name=BSBI07>Template:BSBI 2007</ref> mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine,<ref name=GRIN>Template:GRIN</ref> bog pine, creeping pine,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> or mugo pine,<ref>Template:PLANTS</ref> is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Southeast Europe.

DescriptionEdit

The tree has dark green leaves ("needles") in pairs, Template:Convert long.

The cones are nut-brown, Template:Convert long.

Custura Bucurei.jpg

Pinus mugo subsp. mugo, Romania
Pinus mugo uncinata trees.jpg

Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata
Swiss National Park 007.JPG

Pinus mugo subsp. rotundata, Swiss National Park
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On Jakupica mountain, Republic of North Macedonia

TaxonomyEdit

There are three subspecies:<ref>Christensen, K.I. (1987). Taxonomic revision of the Pinus mugo complex and P. × rhaetica (P. mugo × sylvestris) (Pinaceae). Nordic Journal of Botany. 7: 383–408.</ref>

Pinus mugo subsp. mugo — in the east and south of the range (southern & eastern Alps, Balkan Peninsula), a low, shrubby, often multi-stemmed plant to Template:Convert tall with matt-textured symmetrical cones, which are thin-scaled.
Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata — in the west and north of the range (from the Pyrenees northeast to Poland), a larger, usually single-stemmed tree to Template:Convert tall with glossy-textured asymmetrical cones, the scales of which are much thicker on the upper side.
Some botanists treat the western subspecies as a separate species, Pinus uncinata, others as only a variety, P. mugo var. rostrata. This subspecies in the Pyrenees marks the alpine tree line or timberline, the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing.
Pinus mugo subsp. rotundata — hybrid subspecies, of the two subspecies above that intergrade extensively in the western Alps and northern Carpathians.

An old name for the species, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, is still occasionally seen, and a typographical error "mugho" (first made in a prominent 18th-century encyclopedia) is still often repeated.Template:Citation needed

DistributionEdit

Pinus mugo is native to the subalpine zones of the Pyrenees, Alps, Ore Mountains, Carpathians, northern and central Apennines, and higher Balkan Peninsula mountainsTemplate:Snd Rila, Pirin, Korab, Accursed Mountains, etc. It is usually found from Template:Convert, occasionally as low as Template:Convert in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high as Template:Convert in the south of the range in Bulgaria and the Pyrenees. Also in Kosovo it is found in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park.Template:Citation needed

In Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic region, P. mugo was introduced in the late 1700s and the 1800s, when it was planted in coastal regions for sand dune stabilization, and later as ornamental plants around residences. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the species has naturalised and become invasive, displacing fragile dune and dune heath habitats. In Estonia and Lithuania P. mugo only occasionally naturalises outside plantations, sometimes establishing in raised bogs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

EcologyEdit

Pinus mugo is classed as a wilding conifer, and spreads as an invasive species in the high country of New Zealand,Template:Citation needed coastal Denmark, and other areas of Scandinavia.

CultivationEdit

Pinus mugo is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a small tree or shrub, planted in gardens and in larger pots and planters. It is also used in Japanese garden style landscapes, and for larger bonsai specimens. In Kosovo, its trunk is used as construction material for the vernacular architecture in the mountains called "Bosonica".Template:Citation needed

CultivarsEdit

Numerous cultivars have been selected. The following have been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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'Humpy'<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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'Kissen'<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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'Mops'<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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'Ophir'<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Cultivars with seasonal changes in foliage color include Pinus mugo 'Wintergold' and Pinus mugo 'Ophir'.

UsesEdit

The mugo pine is used in cooking. The cones can be made into a syrup called "pinecone syrup",<ref name="Piccolo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "pine cone syrup",<ref name="Colicchio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or mugolio. Buds and young cones are harvested from the wild in the spring and left to dry in the sun over the summer and into autumn. The cones and buds gradually drip syrup, which is then boiled down to a concentrate and combined with sugar.<ref name="Zing">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Alternatively, the pinecones can be macerated in sugar, fermented, and strained.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

GalleryEdit

Pinus mugo Rila 1.jpg

Pinus mugo (subsp. mugo) habitat. Rila National Park in Bulgaria.
Pinus mugo Blüten.jpg

Female cones and young shoots
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Male pollen producing strobili
Junge Zapfen.jpg

Young cones