| Khasi Pine Pinus kesiya |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Pinus |
| Subgenus: | Pinus |
| Species: | P. kesiya |
| Binomial name | |
| Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon |
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The Khasi Pine, Pinus kesiya, is one of the most distributed pines in Asia. Its range extends south and east from the Khasi hills in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya from where it got its name to northern Thailand, Burma, Laos, southernmost China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The Khasi Pine population are especially dense in India and Burma and quite sparse elsewhere in its natural range. It is an important plantation species elsewhere in the world, including in southern Africa and South America.[1]
In English it is commonly known as either:
The Philippine population (Benguet Pine) is sometimes known as Pinus insularis; however, the current opinion is to treat these as conspecific with P. kesiya. The city of Baguio is nicknamed "The City of Pines", as it is noted for large stands of this tree.
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Pinus kesiya is a tree reaching up to 30–35 m tall with straight, cylindrical trunk. The bark is thick, dark brown, with deep longitudinal fissures. The branches are robust, red brown from the second year, the branchlets horizontal to drooping. The leaves are needle-like, dark green, usually 3 per fascicle, 15–20 cm long, the fascicle sheath 1–2 cm long and persistent. The cones are ovoid, 5–9 cm long, often curved downwards, sometimes slightly distorted; the scales of second-year cones are dense, the umbo a little convex, sometimes acutely spinous. The scales have transverse and longitudinal ridges across the middle of the scale surface. The seeds are winged, 6–7 mm long with a 1.5-2.5 cm wing. Pollination is in mid spring, with the cones maturing 18–20 months after.
Khasi Pine usually grows in pure stands or mixed with broad-leaved trees, but does not form open pine forests.
The soft and light timber of Pinus kesiya can be used for a wide range of applications, including boxes, paper pulp, and temporary electric poles. It is intensely used for timber, both sourced in natural forests and plantations.[2]
The good-quality resin is not abundant and has not been much used except during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines for the production of turpentine.
Locally, the khasi pine is called: