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castiel_axel

help in Identifing a Pine Tree

9 years ago

Hey Guys, would you help me identify this pine tree, it's different from the pine trees around here , this is the only picture of I have, the leaves are long, the cones are big, I googled "kinds of pine trees" and it looked like a Pinus Taeda but i'm not sure, this one located in Algeria, Africa.

Comments (20)

  • 9 years ago

    Smivies, I doubt that, the Cones are different

  • 9 years ago

    You haven't provided photos that have enough detail to see the cones. Without that, we're all guessing between likely candidates.

    Unless it's an irrigated location, it is probably not P. taeda.

    Castiel Axel thanked Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
  • 9 years ago

    Longleaf Pine maybe, I found this picture and it looks similar

  • 9 years ago

    Details of bark, shoots, buds, leaves, cones and sometimes even seeds need to be seen and considered before reliable identification becomes possible.

  • 9 years ago

    The issue with the southeast North American pines (ditto for Mexican pines) is that they are not well adapted to mediterranean climates of north Africa. Perhaps at higher elevations in the Atlas mountains were there are at least moderate summer rains but not at lower elevations. You should really be looking at Mediterranean and Californian pines. Anything from a summer monsoonal area (eg. Arizona, himalayas) needs a fair bit of water in the summer.

    Without at least a cone and/or close up of the foliage, I can't tell you what it is but I can say what it is most likely to be and most certainly what it is not likely to be.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    maybe this pic would help? it's located 950 m above sea level, I'm pretty sure the French planted it during their Colonization to Algeria

  • 9 years ago

    Sorry but all of your shots continue to be taken from too far away. In the last one we still cannot even see how many needles there are per bundle.

    Castiel Axel thanked Embothrium
  • 9 years ago

    thnx anyway

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    All you have to do is post adequately close views of pertinent parts and then you should be able to get useful commentary here. That probably results in an identification.

    Castiel Axel thanked Embothrium
  • 9 years ago

    950m elevation probably rules out P. canariensis due to low winter temperatures. Still don't believe the summer precipitation is enough for P. taeda or P. palustris. Have you considered P. pinaster? Could also be a Californian...P. radiata.

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    it's not a wild tree, it was planted in a Garden so it gets enough water in the summer, I'll try to take close photos next time, thnx

  • 9 years ago

    P. pinaster is found in the coasts only

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not true re: the natural distribution of P. pinaster...its natural range extends far inland in suitable climates and also into the Atlas mountains of North Africa growing up to 2000m elevation in Morocco.

    Also, before P. radiata gained popularity, it was the European pine plantation species of choice.

    As a plantation tree, it has also escaped cultivation in suitable climates and is somewhat of an invasive species outside the Mediterranean basin (similar issue with P. radiata).

    So not too surprising if it's a planted tree with French colonial origins, a seed blown-in volunteer tree, or transplant from elsewhere in Algeria.

  • 9 years ago

    Needles too long and short-lived for Pinus radiata. Tree also looks like it is not multi-nodal.

  • 9 years ago

    maybe it's an unknown kind of pine lol

  • 9 years ago

    So, P. pinaster is still on the table pending more useful photos...

    Pinus pinaster

  • 9 years ago

    I can't go inside to take close pics but I found this, each one is 9 inches tall (23 cm)

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So some bundles at least have 3 needles (some kinds of pines have varying needle counts right on the same tree).

    Maybe if you look around there is another example of the same kind somewhere in the area that you can get close enough to for good close shots of morphological features, including mature bark, shoots, stem buds, cones and maybe even some persisting seeds (perhaps stuck inside cones).

  • 9 years ago

    it's the only one, all the other pines around here are Pinus Halepensis,