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Pinus kesiya
Pinaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Pinus kesiya

Pinus kesiya

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The wood, sawdust and resins from various species of pine can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the moist tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations from 300 - 2,700 metres[2]. Very adaptable to different ecological conditions, though it does not grow well in tropical lowlands[3, 4]. It is found naturally in areas where the mean annual rainfall is in the range 700 - 1,800mm, with a pronounced dry season, and the mean annual temperature is 17 - 22°c, with a mean maximum temperature of the hottest month of 26 - 30°c and a mean minimum temperature of the coldest month of 10 - 18°c[2]. Most provenances can tolerate some frost[3, 5]. A strongly light-demanding plant[2, 5]. Occurs on a variety of soil types from sandy to clay, but seemingly with preference for poor well-drained soil[3]. In the Philippines it is also found on limestone soil[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 4.5 - 5.5, tolerating 3.5 - 6.5[6]. Established plants are fairly drought tolerant[7]. Since it rapidly colonizes degraded areas, khasi pine may become invasive when introduced[7]. Although trees are quite slow-growing for their first 5 years, they then become a fairly fast-growing species[7, 5]. 38-year-old trees in Madagascar were 46 metres tall[7]. Tapping the trees for resin can commence 15 years after the trees have been planted out[5]. Seedling trees begin producing male strobili when aged 9 - 11 years, whilst females are often produced 1 - 2 years later[3]. Cone bearing age begins at 13 - 15 years[3]. In Sumatra, ripe seeds are produced most abundantly between July and November, but viable seeds are produced throughout the year[2]. Field planting is carried out at a spacing of 4 x 4 metres (for resin production) or 3 x 1 - 2 metres (for timber production)[2]. Weeding is necessary for about 3 years until the canopy has completely overtopped the grasses[2]. This species requires more weeding than Pinus caribaea and Pinus oocarpa[2]. In Thailand weeding in Pinus kesiya plantations is carried out 4 times a year[2]. Plants are quite fire resistant[3]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[8].

Propagation

Seed - some highland provenances have a slight temperature dormancy, and it is recommended to cool down imbibed seed for 2 - 3 weeks in a refrigerator before sowing[3]. Pre-soaking the seed in warm water at 40 - 50°c, then cooling it down for a night enhances germination[3]. Sowing in sand in a seedbed and transplanting into polythene tubes is most common[3]. Germination is quite fast for pre-treated seed - usually 5 - 20 days[3]. Time in the nursery is 6 months to 1 year, planting out when the plants are 14 - 20 cm tall[3]. Seedlings may already be suitable for transplanting after 4 - 6 months[2]. Successful natural regeneration is only possible where a relatively large amount of sunlight reaches the ground[2]. The seeds can be stored for several years, provided they are kept dry, cold and in an airtight container[2]. Air-layering[3]. Top cleft grafting[3]. Mass propagation by rooting cuttings from hedged orchards is technically possible but not yet operational on a large scale[3]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pinus+kesiya>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. — Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. · Houghton Mifflin Co. · 1990 · ISBN 0395467225 ↩︎A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
  2. [2]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  3. [3]Seed Leaflets — Various · Forest & Landscape. Denmark · http://en.sl.life.ku.dk/Publikationer/Udgivelser/PopulaerPublikationer.aspx?katid={D28373CC-6EF3-4EF8-B097-6D83FABF209E}&serieid={9F1C3DB1-6E7B-4CF1-AF53-F480B0CB40EF}&sort=title ↩︎A series of leaflets, jointly produced by the University of Copenhagen and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, focussing on seed information for a number species, but also giving a lot of other information about each plant.
  4. [4]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  5. [5]Trees of Laos and Vietnam - A Field Guide to 100 species. — Hoang Van Sam; Khamseng Nanthavong; Kessler P.J.A. · Blumea · 2004 ↩︎A detailed guide, with excellent line-drawings, to 100 of the more important trees of Laos and Vietnam. A very good work, giving lots of information about each plant. Originally published in the journal Blumea, it is available as a PDF on the Interne
  6. [6]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  7. [7]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
  8. [8]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  9. [9]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  10. [10]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  11. [11]Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. — Grae. I. · MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. · 1974 · ISBN 0-02-544950-8 ↩︎A very good and readable book on dyeing.
  12. [12]Vegetable Gums and Resins. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · ISBN 81-88818-17-8 ↩︎A very good book dealing with the subject in a readable way.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎