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Pinus patula
Pinaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Pinus patula

Pinus patula

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

Pinus patula grows in the subtropical to temperate highlands of central and southern Mexico, at elevations between 1,500 and 3,000 metres. It is found mainly in areas with abundant annual precipitation ranging from 1,000 - 2,200mm, though it can tolerate 750 - 3,000mm[2, 3]. In some areas fog can play a significant part in the availability of moisture through much of the dry season[2]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 29°c, but can tolerate 10 - 33°c[3]. It is not a very cold-hardy plant, being able to tolerate short periods with temperatures down to around -10°c when fully dormant[4]. Plants usually form multi-stemmed trees in areas subject to frost damage in the spring[5]. Pine species in general require a sunny position if they are to grow well and, whilst the different species have their own soil preferences, most will thrive in a light well-drained sandy or gravelly loam[6, 7]. Dislikes poorly drained moorland soils[6]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 7.5[3]. Established plants tolerate drought[5]. Early growth is quite rapid[8]. Under favourable conditions trees may attain a height of 15 metres after 8 years and 35 metres after 30 years[9]. Plants grow well in the temperate climate of southwest England (where there are specimens more than 15 metres tall) and in other areas with similar climates[7]. The tree self-prunes poorly, so plantation trees are pruned when 4 - 6 year old to a height up to 2.5 metres in order to reduce fire hazard and improve access ('low pruning'). In pulpwood plantations no further pruning is done, although pruning up to a height of 6 metres has been recommended to reduce the risk of fire. For the production of sawn timber, dead as well as living branches up to a height of 7 or even 12 metres are removed to produce knot-free timber ('high pruning')[9]. The production of viable seeds starts when trees are 5 years old, and is prolific in 8 - 10-year-old trees[9]. The ovoid seed cones are 5 - 12cm long and 3 - 6cm wide. They take two growing seasons to come to maturity, opening and shedding their seed whilst still attached to the tree[10]. Annual wood production potential is 15 - 40 cubic metres per hectare[3]. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly[5]. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus[5]. This species is notably resistant to honey fungus[5].

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[11]. Plant seedlings out into their permanent positions as soon as possible and protect them for their first winter or two[7]. 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[5]. 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[5]. 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[12]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Pinus+patula>

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]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]The Gymnosperm Database — http://www.conifers.org/index.htm ↩︎A vast amount of information on conifers and families of gymnosperms.
  5. [5]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.
  6. [6]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  9. [9]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.
  10. [10]Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada — Lauriault. J. · Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. · 1989 · ISBN 0889025649 ↩︎Very good on identification for non-experts, the book also has a lot of information on plant uses.
  11. [11]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.
  12. [12]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.
  13. [13]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  14. [14]A Modern Herbal. — Grieve. · Penguin · 1984 · ISBN 0-14-046-440-9 ↩︎Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
  15. [15]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
  16. [16]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.
  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. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎