Pinus ayacahuite

What to Eat

Edible parts: Seeds, Nuts

The seeds can be eaten raw or cooked. Each seed is about 8mm long, rich in oil, and has a resinous flavour. A vanillin flavouring is also obtained as a by-product of resins released from the pulpwood.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

It is a warm temperate plant. It grows at high elevations in Guatemala. It occurs between 2,000-3,300 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 8-11. Arboretum Tasmania. Canberra Forestry Department.

Australia, Britain, Central America, Colombia, Europe, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, North America, Tasmania,

How to Identify

A cone shaped pine tree. It grows to 24 m high. The bark has wide shallow cracks. They are pinkish. The lower branches are long and thin. The leaves are needles which are spread out and dull blue-green. They are long and slender and often bent near their base. They occur in groups of five. Male flowers are yellow and female flowers are red and upright on short stalks. The cones taper and they hang downwards. They are about 30 cm long. The young cones are green but ripe cones are orange-brown. The scales turn back near the base.

How to Grow

Thrives in a light well-drained sandy or gravelly loam. Dislikes poorly drained moorland soils. Established plants tolerate drought. Growth of older trees tends to be very slow but many younger trees are growing fairly quickly averaging more than 30cm a year. This tree is unique in being the only tree from the tropics (it is found between latitudes 14 and 20°north) to succeed in central Scotland, latitude 57°north. It tolerates temperatures down to about -15°c. The cones open and shed their seed whilst still attached to the tree. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus. Seed cones are up to 30cm long. A tree at Kew in January 1995 was about 12 metres tall and had well over 50 large cones on it. Another mature tree of the same species growing nearby had only a very few cones. Leaf secretions inhibit the germination of seeds, thereby inhibiting the growth of other plants below the tree. Plants in this genus are notably susceptible to honey fungus.

Propagation: Sow seed in individual pots in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe, or in late winter if not possible. A short stratification of 6 weeks at 4°c can improve germination of stored seed. Plant seedlings into permanent positions as soon as possible and protect them for the first winter or two. Plants have a very sparse root system and establish best when moved young — ideally between 30 and 90cm tall, though we plant them out at around 5–10cm tall. A thorough weed-excluding mulch helps them establish well. Larger transplants check badly and may put on little growth for several years, which also impairs root development and wind resistance. Cuttings work only when taken from trees less than 10 years old. Use single leaf fascicles with the base of the short shoot; disbudding the shoots a few weeks before taking cuttings can help. Cuttings are normally slow to establish.

Medicinal Uses

Turpentine from pine resin is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient, and vermifuge. Taken internally it is a valuable treatment for kidney and bladder complaints, and is used both internally and as a rub and steam bath for rheumatic conditions. It benefits the respiratory system and is useful for diseases of the mucous membranes and complaints such as coughs, colds, influenza, and TB. Externally it treats skin complaints, wounds, sores, burns, and boils, applied as liniment plasters, poultices, herbal steam baths, and inhalers.

Other Uses

A tan or green dye is obtained from the needles. The needles contain terpene, released when rain washes over them, which inhibits germination of some plants including wheat. Oleo-resins occur in all pine tissues but are not always present in quantities that make extraction economically worthwhile. Resins are obtained by tapping the trunk or by destructive distillation of the wood; trees from warmer regions generally yield more. Turpentine makes up an average of 20% of the oleo-resin and is separated by distillation, with uses as a solvent for waxes, in varnish-making, and medicinally. Rosin, the residue after turpentine removal, is used by violinists and in sealing wax and varnish. Pitch from the resin is used for waterproofing and as a wood preservative.

Pinus ayacahuite, also called ayacahuite pine and Mexican white pine, (family Pinaceae) is a species of pine native to the mountains of southern Mexico and western Central America, in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains and the eastern end of the Eje Volcánico Transversal, between 14° and 21°N latitude in the Mexican states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Chiapas, and in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It grows on relatively moist areas with summer rainfalls, however specimens from its eastern and southern distribution live under really wet conditions; it needs full sun and well drained soils. Its temperature needs fluctuate between 19 and 10 °C on average a year. This tree accepts from subtropical to cool climate. Pinus ayacahuite is a large tree, regularly growing to 30–45 m and exceptionally up to 50 m tall. It is a member of the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. The needles are finely serrated, and 9–16 cm long. The cones are long and slender, 15–40 cm long and 4–6 cm broad (closed), opening to 6–10 cm broad; the scales are thin and flexible. The seeds are small, 6–8 mm long, and have a long slender wing 18–25 mm long. It is moderately susceptible to white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), but in cultivation has proved somewhat less susceptible than most other American white pines (see e.g. western white pine, sugar pine).

Notes

There are over 100 species of Pinus.

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