Durango Pine

Durango Pine
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Pinus
Subgenus:	Pinus
Species:	P. durangensis
Binomial name
Pinus durangensis Martínez

Durango Pine (Pinus durangensis) is a pine native to the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains of northwestern Mexico, from Chihuahua and Sonora south through Durango and Jalisco to Michoacán. It is a moderately high altitude species, growing at 1500–2800 m.

It is related to Ponderosa Pine and included in the same subsection Ponderosae. It is an evergreen tree reaching 25–40 m in height, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter and a broad, rounded crown. The bark is thick, dark gray-brown, and scaly or fissured. The leaves are needle-like, dark green, five to seven per fascicle (mostly six, this high number unique in the genus), 14–24 cm long and 0.7-1.1 mm wide, the persistent fascicle sheath 1.5–3 cm long. The cones are ovoid, 5–9 cm long, green ripening brown, opening when mature in spring to 5–6 cm broad. The seeds are winged, 5–6 mm long with a 1.5-2.5 cm wing. Pollination is in late spring, with the cones maturing 20–22 months after.

References

• Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Pinus durangensis. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
• Gymnosperm Database: Pinus durangensis
• Farjon, A. & Styles, B. T. (1997). Pinus (Pinaceae). Flora Neotropica Monograph 75: 171-175.