Pinus oocarpa / Pinus tecunumanii
Family:
Native to:
Habitat:
Pinaceae
Native range: Southern Central America.
Grows on mountain slopes and plains. Up to 2500 meters above sea level. 20 meter tall tree.
Ecological value:
Pioneer species. Will easily re-sprout at base. Fast growth rate: 2.5 meters per year in first 8 years. Slow initial growth. The root of Pinus tecunumanii is so weak that slight wind is enough to cause damage/breaks/falls.
Material uses:
Used for construction, boxes, posts, handles, popsicle sticks, plywood, pulpwood, fuel wood and charcoal. Suitable for framing, flooring, joinery and particle board. Oleoresin, obtained from the bar. Wood is resistant to white-rot fungus. Bark used for kindling. Tan or green dye from needles.
Edible uses:
Vanilla substitute from pulpwood.
Medicinal use:
Resin antiseptic, diuretic. Beneficial to respiratory system - tablets of resin made to treat pneumonia. Resin in water with eucalyptus treats coughs. Leaves treat dysentery.
Other details:
Susceptible to nutrient deficiencies and needle diseases, allows for a weedy under-story to develop which can cause fires- this not a plantation species. Needles contain terpene which can have a negative affect on the germination of other species. Can be planted as a live fence (via seed sapling).
Research:
Jiahuan Cheng/Christine Facella
Sources:
“Pinus Oocarpa - Useful Tropical Plants.” n.d. Tropical.theferns.info. Accessed November 16, 2023. https://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pinus+oocarpa.
Chudnoff Martin., ‘Tropical Timbers of the World. Ag. Handbook No. 607’, USDA Forest Service. Wisconsin., 1984
Howes. F. N., ‘Vegetable Gums and Resins’, Faber
Image sources: Perkin_4036 and tomsaint11.