10 Graines Pin noir, Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii

Salzmann Pin shows the morphological characteristics common to all black pines. The Laricio Pin, which shares its distribution area, is quite easily confused with it. Variations between these three species make it possible to differentiate them.

The general silhouette of the elderly subjects of Salzmann and Laricio presents a spread and airy pea, that of the black pine is pyramidal and dense. Salzmann and black pine carry their branches with narrow angle, the Laricio carries them at right angles. The respective colors range from the light green-yellow for the very dark green Salzmann for black pine, with between the two the green-blue of the Laricio. The bark of the three species is scaly at all ages, and cracked in the elderly. But its color differs in young people from each species : gray for black pine, reddish brown for the Laricio and reddish gray brunette for the Salzmann.

Closer, there are differences on young twigs, leaves (needles) and buds :

The absence of sheets (needles) at the base of the twigs of the year is a characteristic identifier of the Salzmann, as much by this nudity as by the brown-orange color shiny from the branch to its base thus bare. In the black pine and the Laricio, the needles grow from the base of the branches of the year and the base of the branches is duller. It is dark brown in black and light brown pine in Laricio.

Pin de Salzmann, leafy end of branches.

The Aiguilles from Salzmann and Laricio are non -spicy ; It is their only similar feature. Those of Salzmann are light green, straight, flexible, inserted in brush and measure 10 to 18 cm long ; Those of Laricio are green-blue, slightly curted, closed on the bud and, smaller, measure 12 to 15 cm long. Those of black pine are spicy, steep, dark green, often inserted in Écouvillon and measure 9 to 16 cm long4.

A 1960 study showed that the epidermis of the black pine needles of the Cévennes, the Pyrenees and Spain, that is to say Salzmann, show a rank of narrow and rectangular cells, while that Black pine needles from Austria or Romania (Crimea pine) show a row of thick and square cells.

The hypoderm of the Salzmann and Mauritania pine needles shows two rows of cells, that of the Austrian black pine needles has two to three rows and that of the Pallasiana needlesThree to five16.

Finally the Bourgeons from Salzmann and Laricio are not very resinous, those of black pine are much. In the Salzmann they are sharp and crisscrossed with crevices. Those of Laricio are also pointed but their shape is more abrupt ; Those of black pine are pointed in oblong and have applied scales4.

The variations in the size of the cones between the subspecies studied, both in length and in width, are measured at a few mm on an average and can hardly be used for identification - at most to a relative confirmation. At 5.6 cm, the cones from Saint-Guilhem are however the smallest in average length, and with those from Cazorla in Andalusia they are also the smallest in width Average (2.6 cm) - The largest width being 2.9 cm for Mauritania pines installed in RIF in Morocco16.

More difficult to observe with the naked eye, the pollens of the pines of Salzmann and Mauritania are similar in size and much smaller than the pollen of Crimean pine16.

To estimate the age of a Salzmann pine, the diameter of the trunk is not as revealing as large plates are on the bark and a table -shaped houppier3.

Pins de Salzmann, spontaneous regeneration in Catalonia.

It flowers in the spring, and begins to produce fruits around the age of 15 to 25. Its cones mature in 20 months and release their seeds by opening around February-March at the end of the cold period. The cones themselves can last up to a year or more after the seeds have fallen. The seeds germinate quickly after their semage, all the more densely since the reception field is bare - a very slight cover of type Garrigue or Pelouse is beneficial but not the presence of Other trees. During its first two years, the seedling hardly showed growth : it develops its roots and its first Vericille. Then the visible growth accelerates and the young tree can push 40 to 60 cm in one year and even more in fertile terrain and in good conditions4.

The pine of Salzmann has little used for reforestation sites14, except for a diversification objective15. It is more resistant to drought than the black pine of Austria, but it is not a pyrophyte and the fires are harmful to it : its seeds are less numerous and longer to germinate than Those of the maritime pine (Pinus Pinaster) and the latter is often chosen by foresters as a species of reforestation.

: Content submitted to the CC-BY-SA license 3.0. Source : Article Pin de Salzmann by Wikipedia in French (Authors)