Pinus merkusii
{{Short description|Species of conifer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = VU
| image = Pohon Pinus (P. merkusii).jpg
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Pinus
| display_parents = 3
| parent = Pinus subsect. Pinus
| species = merkusii
| authority = Jungh. & de Vriese
| range_map = CL-39 Pinus merkusii range map.png
| range_map_caption = Natural range of Pinus merkusii
}}
Pinus merkusii, the Merkus pine{{PLANTS|id=PIME2|taxon=Pinus merkusii|accessdate=4 October 2015}} or Sumatran pine, is a pine native to the Malesia region of southeast Asia, and the only one that occurs naturally south of the equator.{{cite web | url=https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_merkusii.php | title=Pinus merkusii (Thông nhua) description – the Gymnosperm Database }}
Description
Pinus merkusii is a medium-sized to large tree, reaching {{convert|25|–|45|m|abbr=off|ft}} tall and with a trunk diameter of up to {{convert|1|m|abbr=on}}. The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves ('needles') are in pairs, very slender, {{Convert|15–20|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long and less than {{Convert|1|mm|frac=32}} thick, green to yellowish green.
The cones are narrow conic, {{Convert|5–8|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long and {{Convert|2|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown. They open to 4–5 cm broad at maturity to release the seeds. The seeds are {{Convert|5–6|mm|abbr=on|frac=32}} long, with a {{Convert|15–20|mm|abbr=on|frac=4}} wing, and are wind-dispersed.
{{gallery|mode=packed
|Pinus merkusii Toba1.jpg|Branches with cones
}}
= Related species =
Pinus merkusii is closely related to the Tenasserim pine (P. latteri), which occurs farther north in southeast Asia from Myanmar to Vietnam; some botanists treat the two as conspecific (under the name P. merkusii, which was described first), but P. latteri differs in longer ({{Convert|18–27|cm|abbr=on|disp=or|frac=2}}) and stouter (over 1 mm thick) leaves and larger cones with thicker scales, the cones often remaining closed for some time after maturity. It is also related to the group of Mediterranean pines including Aleppo pine and Turkish pine, which share many features with it.
Distribution
It can be found mainly in Indonesia in the mountains of northern Sumatra, and with two outlying populations in central Sumatra on Mount Kerinci and Mount Talang, and in the Philippines on Mindoro and in the Zambales Mountains on western Luzon. Isolated populations of Pinus merkusii can be found in Mainland Southeast Asia, such as Kirirom National Park, on the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia and Bidoup Núi Bà National Park on the Đà Lạt Plateau in Vietnam.{{cite journal |last1=Setten |first1=G. G. K. |title=THE PINES OF KIRIROM, CAMBODIA |journal=The Commonwealth Forestry Review |date=September 1969 |volume=48 |issue=3 (137) |page=238}}
The population in central Sumatra, between 1° 40' and 2° 06' S latitude, is the only natural occurrence of any member of the Pinaceae south of the Equator. It generally occurs at moderate altitudes, mostly {{convert|400|–|1500|m|abbr=on}}, but occasionally as low as {{convert|90|m|abbr=on}} and up to {{convert|2000|m|abbr=on}}.{{Cite book |last=Critchfield |first=William |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0hsuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA15 |title=Geographic Distribution of the Pines of the World |publisher=U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service |year=1966 |pages=15}}
References
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{{Authority control}}
Category:Trees of the Philippines
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