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Pinus oocarpa
Pinaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Pinus oocarpa

Pinus oocarpa

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
Growth—

Pinus oocarpa is a plant of the semi-arid to moist tropics and subtropics, where it occurs at elevations from 350 - 2,500 metres, reaching its best development at elevations between 1,200 - 1,800 metres[2]. It grows in areas where the mean annual rainfall can be as low as 600 - 800 mm, in other parts of its native range annual rainfall can exceed 2,500 mm[2]. It can tolerate a dry season of up to 5 months[2]. The plant is not tolerant of frost according to one report, though others say that is able to withstand short periods with temperatures falling to around -5°c[3, 4]. Mature plants require a sunny position, though young plants can tolerate some shade[5]. Plants sometimes tolerate shallow soil[2]. Most often found in the wild on shallow, sandy clay soils of moderate soil acidity (pH 4.0 - 6.5) that are well drained[6]. Plants grow best on deep, well-drained soils and with good rainfall regimes[6]. Young seedling plants tend to become bushy shortly after field establishment and remain that way for several years before a dominant terminal leader develops[6]. Seedlings will resprout after heavy browsing by deer, and saplings will resprout from the base after either freezes or fires of low intensity[6]. Continued interest in Pinus oocarpa as a plantation species declined in the early to mid-1980's because provenances of Pinus tecunumanii and Pinus caribaea var hondurensis were found that yielded larger volumes of wood[6]. The disadvantages of this species as a plantation crop include its slow initial growth on some sites, poor wind firmness, susceptibility to nutrient deficiencies and needle diseases, and a relatively light crown that permits a continuous weedy understory to develop, increasing the fire danger[6]. However, recent problems of stem breakage in Pinus tecunumanii have once again stimulated interest in planting more of this plant[6]. Growers like its good wood quality, its ability to sprout from cut stumps, and the ease with which it vegetatively propagates[6]. An extremely variable species in its native environment because it has evolved under diverse climatic and edaphic patterns over its 3000-km geographic distribution[6]. In South-East Asia, plantation-grown trees often do not produce viable seed, due to unsynchronized production of male and female cones[2]. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus[7].

Propagation

It is best to sow the seed in individual pots in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe if this is possible otherwise in late winter. A short stratification of 6 weeks at 4°c can improve the germination of stored seed[8]. Plant seedlings out into their permanent positions as soon as possible and protect them for their first winter or two[9]. Plants have a very sparse root system and the sooner they are planted into their permanent positions the better they will grow[PFAF]. Trees should be planted into their permanent positions when they are quite small, between 30 and 90cm[7]. We actually plant them out when they are about 5 - 10cm tall. So long as they are given a very good weed-excluding mulch they establish very well[PFAF]. Larger trees will check badly and hardly put on any growth for several years. This also badly affects root development and wind resistance[7]. Cuttings. This method only works when taken from very young trees less than 10 years old. Use single leaf fascicles with the base of the short shoot. Disbudding the shoots some weeks before taking the cuttings can help. Cuttings are normally slow to grow away[10]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Pinus+oocarpa>

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]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  4. [4]New Trees — Grimshaw J.; Bayton R.; Wilks H. · Kew Publishing; London · 2009 · ISBN 1842461737 ↩︎Provides comprehensive botanical descriptions and horticultural commentary on over 800 tree species that have been introduced to cultivation in recent decades.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]Tropical Tree Seed Manual — Vosso. J. Editor. · USDA Forest Service. · 2002 · http://www.rngr.net/Publications/ttsm ↩︎An extremely good guide, it can also be downloaded in its entirety from the address shown above.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. — McMillan-Browse. P. · Grower Books · 1985 · ISBN 0-901361-21-6 ↩︎Does not deal with many species but it is very comprehensive on those that it does cover. Not for casual reading.
  9. [9]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  10. [10]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  11. [11]Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607. — Chudnoff. Martin. · USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin. · 1984 ↩︎Terse details on the properties of the wood of almost 400 species of trees from the Tropics.
  12. [12]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.
  13. [13]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  14. [14]Biblioteca Digital de la Medicina Tradicional Mexicana — http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/index.php ↩︎A very valuable on-line resource with detailed information on many hundreds of medicinal plants used in Mexico
  15. [15]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.
  16. [16]Effects of Sinomenine on the Expression of microRNA-155 in 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid-Induced Colitis in Mic — Qiao Yu et al · 2013 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0073757 ↩︎
  17. [17]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.
  18. [18]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  19. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎