Pinus pumila
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Pinus pumila, commonly known as the Siberian dwarf pine, dwarf Siberian pine,<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /><ref name="GRIN">Template:GRIN</ref> dwarf stone pine,<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Japanese stone pine,<ref name="GRIN" /> or creeping pine,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> is a tree in the family Pinaceae native to northeastern Asia and the Japanese isles. It shares the common name creeping pine with several other plants.
DescriptionEdit
{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= {{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B= Template:Ambox }} }} The Siberian dwarf pine is a coniferous evergreen shrub ranging from Template:Convert in height, exceptionally up to Template:Convert, but may have individual branches that extend further along the ground in length. In the mountains of northern Japan, it sometimes hybridizes with the related Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora); these hybrids (Pinus × hakkodensis) are larger than P. pumila, reaching Template:Convert tall on occasion.
The leaves are needle-like, formed in bundles of five and are 4–6 centimeters long. The cones are 2.5–4.5cm long, with large nut-like seeds (pine nuts).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DistributionEdit
The range covers the Far East, Eastern Siberia, north-east of Mongolia, north-east of China, northern Japan and Korea.<ref name=GRIN/> Siberian dwarf pine can be found along mountain chains, above the tree line, where it forms dense, uninterrupted thickets; it also grows on the headlands above the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, Tatarsk and Pacific coast (the Kurils).
P. pumila grows very slowly. It can live up to 300 and, in some instances, 1,000 years.<ref>Koropachinsky, Vstovskaya, 2002</ref>Template:Full citation needed In the colder conditions of Siberia, there are specimens which are 250 years old and older.
EcologyEdit
The seeds are harvested and dispersed by the spotted nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).
- Pinus pumila 03.jpg
- Young seed cones of Pinus pumila BG Tallinn.jpg
- Pinus pumila microstrobilus BG Tallinn.jpg
P. pumila has highly flammable needles, branches, and cones and readily carries crown fires, especially where it grows continuously across local landscapes.<ref name=wang>Wang, S., X. Zheng, Y. Du, G. Zhang, Q. Wang, D. Han and J. Zhang. 2025. Estimation of short-term vegetation recovery in post-fire Siberian Dwarf Pine (Pinus pumila) shrublands based on Sentinel-2 Data. Fire 8(2):47.</ref> It has serotinous cones that release seeds following fire<ref>He, T., Pausas, J.P., Belcher, C.M., Schwilk, D. W. & Lamont, B. B. (2012) Fire-adapted traits of Pinus arose in the fiery Cretaceous. New Phytologist 194, 751?59. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04079.x.</ref> facilitating its recovery following severe fires caused by lightning strikes and other causes.<ref name=wang/><ref>Zhao, F. J., L. F. Shu, M. Y. Wang, B. Liu and L. J. Yang. 2012. Influencing factors on early vegetation restoration in burned area of Pinus pumila–Larch forest. Acta Ecologica Sinica 32(2):57-61.</ref>
CultivationEdit
This plant is grown as an ornamental shrub in parks and gardens. The cultivar P. pumila 'Glauca' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>