Pinus halepensis

Scientific description

Taxon: Pinus halepensis
Class: Pinopsida
Subclass: Pinidae
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Common name: Aleppo pine

Origin:
Mediterranean basin (Southern Europe, North Africa, Middle East).

Description:
Resinous conifer with persistent foliage, 15–20 m tall. Irregular slender habit, gray to reddish-brown cracked bark. Needles thin, flexible, light green to gray-green, in pairs. Ovoid cones light brown, remain several years, release seeds after thermal stress (pyrochorous). Tolerates heat, poor/calcareous/siliceous soils, prolonged drought. Colonizes abandoned or burned lands.

Propagation:
Mainly by seeds, often after fire (serotinous). Reforestation by direct sowing or planting.

Ecology:
Pioneer species in maquis and garrigue. Stabilizes soils, improves degraded land, feeds birds and small mammals.

Uses:
Forestry, reforestation, soil stabilization. Wood for light carpentry and paper industry. Resin historically used (e.g., Greek retsina).

Threats:
Not globally threatened, but vulnerable to massive fires and urban pressure. Can promote fire spread if unmanaged.

Creative writing inspired by Pinus halepensis

The Aleppo Pine

Once upon a time, in a forest by the sea in Marseille, there lived an Aleppo pine. It had a secret it didn't want anyone to know. That it could easily catch fire and spread to the rest of the area. But it wasn't something it wanted, it didn't want to hurt anyone, it was just its nature.

One summer morning, a careless driver threw his cigarette into the woods and the pine started to catch fire. Its fruits, the pinecones, began to open up and pop out here and there, spreading terror everywhere. And while all the animals of the forest used to shelter under its shade, they all moved away from it, because they thought it was the pine who had caused the fire.

The pine, sad and pained in its solitude, began to weep, and its tears became raindrops that watered nature and extinguished the fire. All the animals in the forest are stunned by this sight and approach the pine to observe.

And that's what it tells them: ‘’It's not my fault I'm flammable, I was born that way. But I'm not the one who starts fires. If people are careless and create fires, it's not our fault that we plants catch fire easily.’’ The animals understand that it's not the pine's fault and organize dances around it. From then on, they protect it, and when they perceive a risk of fire, they run in search of the culprit or use their cries to warn other animals to move away. And the pine rises in rain clouds over all plants and trees to always protect them.

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Authentic Specimen