{{Short description|Species of conifer}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pines in Mersin 02.jpg | image_caption = Turkish pine near Mersin, Turkey | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2013 |title=''Pinus brutia'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T42347A2974345 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42347A2974345.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | display_parents = 3 | genus = Pinus | parent = Pinus subsect. Pinaster | species = brutia | authority = Ten. | range_map = Pinus brutia range.svg | range_map_caption = Distribution }}
'''''Pinus brutia''''', commonly known as the '''Turkish pine''' and '''Calabrian pine''', is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, with smaller populations occurring in Bulgaria, Crete, Cyprus, Iraq, western Syria, Northern Iran, Crimea, the western Caucasus, and Azerbaijan; it is also naturalised as far east as Afghanistan and Pakistan.<ref name=":0" /> It is also known as '''East Mediterranean pine''', '''Afghan pine''', and '''Brutia pine'''. The name "Calabrian pine" comes from an introduced grove in the region of Calabria in southern Italy; historically this region was called Bruttium, which is likely where the specific epithet "brutia" comes from.<ref name=":0" /> ''Pinus brutia'' bears many similarities with other, closely related species such as ''Pinus halepensis'' and ''Pinus canariensis''. Turkish pine forms a species complex with the former.<ref name=":4" />
==Description== ''Pinus brutia'' is a medium-sized tree, reaching {{convert|20|-|35|m|abbr=off|ft}} tall with a trunk diameter of up to {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}}, exceptionally {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr=on|frac=2}}. The young bark is thin and red-orange, maturing to grey-brown to orange, fissured to flaky in texture. The leaves are needle-like, slender, {{Convert|10–18|cm|abbr=off|frac=2}} long, dark green to yellow-green.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Frankis |first=Michael |date=1999 |title=367. PINUS BRUTIA: Pinaceae |journal=Curtis's Botanical Magazine |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=173–184 |doi=10.1111/1467-8748.00216 |jstor=45065380 |issn=1355-4905}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Pinus brutia Ten. |url=https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000482336 |access-date=11 December 2023 |website=The World Flora Online}}</ref> The needles are in fascicles of two, or rarely three.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Pinus brutia |url=https://www.conifers.org/pi/Pinus_brutia.php |access-date=11 December 2023 |website=The Gymnosperm Database}}</ref>
The male cones are squat, {{Convert|15-20|mm|in|abbr=on}} long.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Pinus brutia - Trees and Shrubs Online |url=https://www.treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/pinus/pinus-brutia/ |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=www.treesandshrubsonline.org}}</ref> The female cones are short, with rigid, woody scales, {{Convert|5-10|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, {{Convert|5-7|cm|in|abbr=on}} broad, maturing from green to red-orange; occasional specimens show similarities in cone structure to the related ''Pinus canariensis''.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> They most often appear in whorls of 3 to 4, and mature in two years after pollination.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> The seeds are usually wind dispersed, dropping from the cones after they open, but some trees have been observed with cones that do not open enough to facilitate wind dispersal. The Krüper's nuthatch may assist these trees in dispersal.<ref name=":0" /><gallery> File:Pine trees in Yamanlardağı Nature Park.jpg|Forest in Yamanlardağı Nature Park, Karşıyaka, İzmir, Turkey File:Pinus brutia kz1.jpg|Mature bark showing red-brown fissures File:Pinus brutia - Turkish pine 01.jpg|Closed cones and foliage, Adana, Turkey File:Pinus brutia - cones - Flickr - S. Rae.jpg|Open cones, Argaka, Cyprus File:Pinus brutia - Turkish pine, Pollen cones 03.jpg| Male (pollen) cones File:Pinus brutia, Findikli 0.jpg|An old specimen from Adana Province, Turkey </gallery>
==Taxonomy== The Italian botanist Michele Tenore described the species in 1811. While Tenore did not provide an explanation for the specific epithet, it was likely named after the historical region of Brut(t)ium, now Calabria, where an introduced population has become naturalised.<ref name=":0" />
''Pinus brutia'' is closely related to ''Pinus halepensis'', and female ''P. brutia'' cones have been shown to accept and hybridise with ''P. halepensis'' pollen. In the past it has been considered a variety or subspecies of ''P. halepensis''.<ref name=":2" /> The species is now treated as distinct, and forms a species complex across the Mediterranean with ''P. halepensis''.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Olsson |first1=Sanna |last2=Lorenzo |first2=Zaida |last3=Zabal-Aguirre |first3=Mario |last4=Piotti |first4=Andrea |last5=Vendramin |first5=Giovanni G. |last6=González-Martínez |first6=Santiago C. |last7=Grivet |first7=Delphine |date=2021-07-01 |title=Evolutionary history of the mediterranean Pinus halepensis-brutia species complex using gene-resequencing and transcriptomic approaches |journal=Plant Molecular Biology |language=en |volume=106 |issue=4 |pages=367–380 |doi=10.1007/s11103-021-01155-7 |issn=1573-5028|doi-access=free |pmid=33934278 |bibcode=2021PMolB.106..367O |hdl=10261/288206 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
=== Varieties === thumb|''P. brutia'' var. ''eldarica'' specimen cultivated in Baku, Azerbaijan. * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''brutia'': Typical form, with needles {{Convert|10-18|cm|in|abbr=on}} long. Found across the Eastern Mediterranean.<ref name=":3" /> * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''pityusa'': Found in smaller stands along the eastern Black Sea coast, near Pitsunda, and on the south coast of Crimea. Very similar to var. ''brutia''.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''pendulifolia'': Muğla, Turkey.<ref name=":3" /> Exceptionally long needles, to {{Convert|24-29|cm|in|abbr=on}}, that are pendulous similar to ''P. canariensis''.<ref name=":0" /> * ''Pinus brutia'' var. ''eldarica'', Afghan Pine: native to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, and naturalised in Afghanistan and Pakistan.<ref name=":0" /> Smaller cones, {{Convert|5-8|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Afghan Pine {{!}} Woody Plant Finder {{!}} Comprehensive Landscape Plant Directory {{!}} Plant Finders {{!}} Plant Resources Home {{!}} TTU |url=https://www.depts.ttu.edu/plantresources/Pages/directories/landscape-info-sheets/woody-info/Pinus_eldarica.php |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=www.depts.ttu.edu}}</ref> Often treated as a subspecies of ''P. brutia'',<ref name=":0" /> or a species of its own.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Shayanmehr | first1=F. | last2=Jalali | first2=S. Gh. | last3=Ghanati | first3=F. | last4=Kartoolinejad | first4=D. | title=Discrimination of Pinus eldarica Medw. and its two new species by epicuticular wax, lignin content, electrophoretic isozyme and activity of peroxidase | journal=Feddes Repertorium | volume=119 | issue=7-8 | date=2008 | issn=0014-8962 | doi=10.1002/fedr.200811188 | pages=644–654 | url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fedr.200811188 | access-date=2025-11-05| url-access=subscription }}</ref> Due to its tolerance of drought and poor soil, it is widely planted as an ornamental tree in southern Europe, Australia, South Africa, and the southwestern United States.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Texas A&M Forest Service - Trees of Texas - List of Trees |url=http://texastreeid.tamu.edu/content/TreeDetails/?id=72 |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=texastreeid.tamu.edu}}</ref>
==Distribution and habitat== thumb|left|Old ''Pinus brutia'' near Datça, Turkey The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but it also extends to southeasternmost Bulgaria,<ref>{{cite web |title=Pinus brutia |url=http://e-ecodb.bas.bg/rdb/bg/vol1/Pinbruti.html |access-date=10 January 2018 |website=Red Book of Bulgaria}}</ref> the East Aegean Islands of Aegean Sea, Crete, Crimea, Iran, Georgia, Azerbaijan, northern Iraq, western Syria, Lebanon and Cyprus.<ref>{{GRIN|access-date=14 April 2011}}</ref> Its presence in the eastern Mediterranean is hypothesised to date only from the nineteenth century, and is predominantly due to human activity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Biger |first=Gideon |last2=Liphschitz |first2=Nili |date=1991-06-01 |title=The recent distribution of Pinus brutia: a reassessment based on dendroarchaeological and dendrohistorical evidence from Israel |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/095968369100100208 |journal=The Holocene |language=EN |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=157–161 |doi=10.1177/095968369100100208 |issn=0959-6836|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It is not native to Israel, but was introduced there in the 1930s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Flora of Israel: Turkish pine |url=http://www.flowersinisrael.com/Pinusbrutia_page.htm |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=www.flowersinisrael.com}}</ref> It generally occurs at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} in northern Turkey, up to {{convert|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}} in the south of its range.<ref name=":0" />
==Ecology== ''Pinus brutia'' is a diagnostic species of the vegetation class ''Pinetea halepensis''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bonari|first1=Gianmaria|last2=Fernández-González|first2=Federico|last3=Çoban|first3=Süleyman|last4=Monteiro-Henriques|first4=Tiago|last5=Bergmeier|first5=Erwin|last6=Didukh|first6=Yakiv P.|last7=Xystrakis|first7=Fotios|last8=Angiolini|first8=Claudia|last9=Chytrý|first9=Kryštof|last10=Acosta|first10=Alicia T.R.|last11=Agrillo|first11=Emiliano|date=January 2021|editor-last=Ewald|editor-first=Jörg|title=Classification of the Mediterranean lowland to submontane pine forest vegetation|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/avsc.12544|journal=Applied Vegetation Science|language=en|volume=24|issue=1|article-number=e12544 |doi=10.1111/avsc.12544|bibcode=2021AppVS..24E2544B |hdl=10400.5/21923 |s2cid=228839165 |issn=1402-2001|hdl-access=free}}</ref>
The Krüper's nuthatch, a rare nuthatch, is largely restricted to forests of Turkish pine and depends heavily on it for feeding; the ranges of the two species are largely coincident.<ref name="Harrap">{{cite book |last=Harrap |first=Simon |others=Illustrated by David Quinn |title=Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers |date=1996|editor=Christopher Helm |publisher=Helm |pages=138–140|isbn=0-7136-3964-4}}</ref>
''P. brutia'' is resistant to the Israeli pine bast scale insect ''Matsucoccus josephi'' and is a major host for ''Thaumetopoea'' caterpillars.
The species covers {{Convert|175,000|ha|abbr=off}} in Cyprus, roughly ~90% of all woodland coverage on the island.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Loizides |first=Michael |date=2021-07-23 |title=Basidiomycete diversity within Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia) ecosystems on the island of Cyprus |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mtax/mt/2021/00000136/00000002/art00017;jsessionid=16hs8sgqjliu.x-ic-live-03 |journal=Mycotaxon |volume=136 |issue=2 |page=543 |doi=10.5248/136.543|s2cid=238789537 }}</ref> It forms ectomycorrhizal associations with numerous species of fungi, and its logs and branches are excellent substrates for many kinds of decomposing organisms.
==Uses== thumb|''Pinus brutia'' in Crimea, Ukraine
===Honey=== Turkish pine is host to a sap-sucking aphid ''Marchalina hellenica''. Under normal circumstances, this insect does no significant damage to the pine, but is of great importance for the excess sugar it secretes. This sugar, "honeydew", is collected by honey bees which make it into a richly flavoured and valuable honey, "pine honey" (Turkish, ''çam balı''), with reputed medicinal benefits.
===Landmark=== The "Lone Pine", a prominent landmark tree at an ANZAC First World War battle at Gallipoli, was this species. Cones from the battlefield were taken home to Australia, and plants sourced from the seeds were planted as living memorials.
"Lone Pine" memorials, based on cones brought back from Gallipoli, may use this species or Aleppo pine. Some memorials utilise other species altogether.<ref name=Wilcox>{{cite journal |author1=Wilcox, Mike |author2=Spencer David |title=Stand up for the real Anzac Lone Pine Of Gallipoli |journal=New Zealand Journal of Forestry |date=May 2007 |pages=3–9|url=http://www.nzjf.org/free_issues/NZJF52_1_2007/ABC34FDA-39BA-438B-B1B1-7A236CAE712B.pdf|access-date=29 March 2012}}</ref>
===Forestry=== It is widely planted for timber, both in its native area (it is the most important tree in forestry in Turkey and Cyprus) and elsewhere in the Mediterranean region east to Pakistan. The timber is used for many purposes including carpentry, industry, general constructions, firewood and pulp.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Fady, B.|author2=Semerci, H.|author3=Vendramin, G.G.|name-list-style=amp|title=Aleppo and Brutia pines - ''Pinus halepensis''/''Pinus brutia''|journal=EUFORGEN Technical Guidelines for Genetic Conservation and Use|date=2003|url=http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin//templates/euforgen.org/upload/Publications/Technical_guidelines/858_Techinical_guidelines_for_genetic_conservation_and_use_of_Aleppo_pine__Pinus_halepensis__and_Brutia_pine__Pinus_brutia_.pdf|archive-date=2018-09-30|access-date=2016-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930004647/http://www.euforgen.org/fileadmin//templates/euforgen.org/upload/Publications/Technical_guidelines/858_Techinical_guidelines_for_genetic_conservation_and_use_of_Aleppo_pine__Pinus_halepensis__and_Brutia_pine__Pinus_brutia_.pdf}}</ref> In Israel it is sometimes preferred to the more widely-used ''Pinus halepensis'' (Aleppo pine) because of its resistance to ''Matsucoccus josephi''. It is also known for being well suited to recreational sites.
===Cultivation=== ''Pinus brutia'' is a popular ornamental tree, extensively planted in parks and gardens in hot dry areas (such as southern California, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada, as well as throughout Arizona and central Texas in the United States), where its considerable heat and drought tolerance is highly valued. The subspecies ''eldarica'' is the most drought tolerant form, used in Afghanistan, Iran and more recently in the Southwestern United States. In this region, ''P. brutia'' subsp. ''eldarica'' is referred to as "Eldarica pine", "Afghan pine" or "Mondell pine" (after Mondell Bennett, a commercial tree grower in New Mexico who popularised the species starting in 1969).<ref name="Widmoyer">{{cite web|last=Widmoyer|first=Fred B.|title=History of Pinus Eldarica in the United States|url=http://morasc.nmsu.edu/docs/History%20of%20Pinus%20Eldarica%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf|work=Southwest Christmas Tree Industry Research Needs and Commercial Opportunities: Proceedings of the Symposium held May 11, 1984, Tucson, Arizona|publisher=New Mexico State University|access-date=5 May 2012|date=1984-05-11|archive-date=2012-02-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120210104005/http://morasc.nmsu.edu/docs/History%20of%20Pinus%20Eldarica%20in%20the%20United%20States.pdf}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== Further reading == * Shayanmehr, F., Jalali, S. G., Ghanati, F., & Kartoolinejad, D. (2008). Discrimination of Pinus eldarica MEDW. and its two new species by epicuticular wax, lignin content, electrophoretic isozyme and activity of peroxidase. Feddes Repertorium, 119(7‐8), 644–654. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fedr.200811188/full * Shayanmehr, F., Jalali, S. G., Ghanati, F., Kartoolinejad, D., & Apple, M. E. (2009). Two new morphotypes of Pinus eldarica: Discrimination by macromorphological and anatomical traits. Dendrobiology, 61, 27–36. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fedr.200811188/full
==External links== * [http://www.pinetum.org/PhotoMPF2.htm Photos of trees in Turkey (''scroll down page'')] * [http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/brutia.htm Gymnosperm Database - ''Pinus brutia''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130906131657/http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/blog/pinus_brutia_calabrian_pine Conifers Around the World: ''Pinus brutia'' – Calabrian pine] * [http://www.euforgen.org/species/pinus-brutia/ ''Pinus brutia''] - distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)
{{Taxonbar|from=Q628329}} {{Authority control}}
brutia Category:Trees of Western Asia Category:Flora of Azerbaijan Category:Flora of Bulgaria Category:Flora of Georgia (country) Category:Flora of Greece Category:Trees of Mediterranean climate Category:Garden plants of Asia Category:Garden plants of Europe Category:Drought-tolerant trees Category:Ornamental trees Category:Natural history of Anatolia Category:Flora of the Mediterranean basin