Pinus radiata
Pinus radiata
Safety & Hazards
The wood, sawdust and resins from various species of pine can cause dermatitis in sensitive people[ 222 Title A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Publication Author Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. Publisher Houghton Mifflin Co. Year 1990 ISBN 0395467225 Description 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. ].
Botanical Description
Pinus radiata is an evergreen tree with a dense crown; it can grow up to 55 metres tall. The bole is more or less straight, usually up to 150cm in diameter, occasionally to 250cm[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. ]. Extensively cultivated for timber in warm temperate zones, especially in New Zealand, and also at higher elevations in the tropics, this is the most widely cultivated of all tree species. The tree is also often grown as an ornamental and to provide shade and shelter from strong winds[ 299 Title Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. Publication Author Website http://www.prota.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa. , 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. , 418 Title Ecocrop Publication Author Website http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available. ]. Although very widely cultivated, wild stands of Pinus radiata have been severely reduced in the wild and are threatened by logging, feral goats, an introduced alien pathogen (pitch canker fungus), and competition from other trees in the absence of periodic fires. The plant is classified as 'Endangered' in the wild in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ]. Pinus radiata is widely used in forestry and has escped from cultivation, becoming naturalized and invasive in several countries, notably Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Hawaii (USA) and South Africa. It is a prolific seed producer that reproduces at a young age, grows very rapidly and has seeds that may be stored in serotinous cones for many years. With its rapid growth and the high levels of litter that accumulate below, native species are outcompeted and reduced diversity has been recorded in areas where it has become invasive[ 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ].