{{Short description|Species of plant}} {{Other uses|Mountain pine (disambiguation)}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pinus mugo cone 01.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn|author=Farjon, A.|year=2017|title=''Pinus mugo''|article-number=e.T42385A95729675|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T42385A95729675.en|access-date=13 April 2024}}</ref> | genus = Pinus | display_parents = 3 | parent = Pinus subsect. Pinus | species = mugo | authority = Turra | range_map = Pinus mugo range.svg | range_map_caption = Distribution map: :{{Color box|#FFA77F}} ''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''uncinata'' (syn. ''Pinus uncinata''). :{{Color box|#70A800}} ''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''mugo'' and ''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''rotundata''. | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/search?q=pinus+mugo| title = The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species}}</ref> | synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true | ''Pinus'' × ''obliqua'' var. ''centrapedunculata'' Woerl. | ''Pinus applanata'' (Booth ex Loudon) Willk. | ''Pinus digenea'' Wettst. nom. illeg. | ''Pinus echinata'' Carrière nom. inval. | ''Pinus fischeri'' Booth ex P.Laws. nom. illeg. | ''Pinus magellensis'' Schouw | ''Pinus montana'' Mill. | ''Pinus mugho'' Laichard. [Spelling variant] | ''Pinus mughus'' Scop. | ''Pinus obliqua'' var. ''centrapedunculata'' Woerl. | ''Pinus pumilio'' (Haenke in Jirazek et al) Franco | ''Pinus pumilio'' Haenke | ''Pinus rostrata'' K.Koch nom. inval. | ''Pinus rubriflora'' Loudon ex Gordon nom. inval. | ''Pinus sanguinea'' Lapeyr. | ''Pinus squamosa'' Bosc ex Loudon | ''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''montana'' (Mill.) Aiton | ''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''montana'' (Mill.) Dum. Cours. | ''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''montana'' (Mill.) Wahlenb. | ''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''palustris'' Hagenb. | ''Pinus sylvestris'' var. ''pumilio'' (Haenke) Gaudin | ''Pinus wettsteinii'' Fritsch }}}}
'''''Pinus mugo''''', known as '''dwarf mountain pine''',<ref name=BSBI07>{{BSBI 2007 |access-date=2014-10-17}}</ref> '''mountain pine''', '''scrub mountain pine''', '''Swiss mountain pine''',<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date = 14 December 2017}}</ref> '''bog pine''', '''creeping pine''',<ref>{{cite book|author=Andersson, F.|year=2005|title=Coniferous Forests|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0-444-81627-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_YoO8xKYSJAC&q=%22creeping+pine%22+pinus+mugo&pg=PA613}}</ref> or '''mugo pine''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=PIMU80|taxon=Pinus mugo|access-date=31 January 2016}}</ref> is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and Southeast Europe.
== Description == The tree has dark green leaves ("needles") in pairs, {{convert|3|-|7|cm|abbr=off|frac=4}} long.
The cones are nut-brown, {{convert|2.5|-|5.5|cm|abbr=on|frac=8}} long.
<gallery> Custura Bucurei.jpg|''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''mugo'', Romania Pinus mugo uncinata trees.jpg|''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''uncinata'' Swiss National Park 007.JPG|''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''rotundata'', Swiss National Park Бор кривул 01.JPG|On Jakupica mountain, Republic of North Macedonia </gallery>
== Taxonomy == There are three subspecies:<ref>Christensen, K.I. (1987). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717175221/http://www.botanic-garden.ku.dk/kic/NJB07_383-408_Pin-mugo.pdf Taxonomic revision of the ''Pinus mugo'' complex and ''P.'' × ''rhaetica'' (''P. mugo'' × ''sylvestris'') (Pinaceae)]. ''Nordic Journal of Botany''. 7: 383–408.</ref> * '''''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''mugo''''' — in the east and south of the range (southern & eastern Alps, Balkan Peninsula), a low, shrubby, often multi-stemmed plant to {{convert|3|-|6|m|ft|0|abbr=off}} tall with matt-textured symmetrical cones, which are thin-scaled. * '''''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''uncinata''''' — in the west and north of the range (from the Pyrenees northeast to Poland), a larger, usually single-stemmed tree to {{convert|20|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall with glossy-textured asymmetrical cones, the scales of which are much thicker on the upper side.<p>Some botanists treat the western subspecies as a separate species, '''''Pinus uncinata''''', others as only a variety, ''P. mugo'' var. ''rostrata''. This subspecies in the Pyrenees marks the alpine tree line or timberline, the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing.</p> * '''''Pinus mugo'' subsp. ''rotundata''''' — hybrid subspecies, of the two subspecies above that intergrade extensively in the western Alps and northern Carpathians.
An old name for the species, ''{{lang|la|Pinus montana}}'', is still occasionally seen, and a typographical error "''mugho''" (first made in a prominent 18th-century encyclopedia) is still often repeated.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
== Distribution == ''Pinus mugo'' is native to the subalpine zones of the Pyrenees, Alps, Ore Mountains, Carpathians, northern and central Apennines, and higher Balkan Peninsula mountains{{Snd}}Rila, Pirin, Korab, Accursed Mountains, etc. It is usually found from {{convert|1000|-|2200|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, occasionally as low as {{convert|200|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high as {{convert|2700|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} in the south of the range in Bulgaria and the Pyrenees. Also in Kosovo it is found in Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
In Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic region, ''P. mugo'' was introduced in the late 1700s and the 1800s, when it was planted in coastal regions for sand dune stabilization, and later as ornamental plants around residences. In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the species has naturalised and become invasive, displacing fragile dune and dune heath habitats. In Estonia and Lithuania ''P. mugo'' only occasionally naturalises outside plantations, sometimes establishing in raised bogs.<ref>{{cite web |author=Henrik Jørgensen |date=25 October 2010 |title=NOBANIS – Invasive Alien Species Fact Sheet Pinus mugo |url=https://www.nobanis.org/globalassets/speciesinfo/p/pinus-mugo/pinus_mugo.pdf |access-date=4 September 2020 |publisher=NOBANIS - Online Database of the European Network on Invasive Alien Species}}</ref>
== Ecology == ''Pinus mugo'' is classed as a wilding conifer, and spreads as an invasive species in the high country of New Zealand,{{citation needed|date=September 2020}} coastal Denmark, and other areas of Scandinavia.
== Cultivation == ''Pinus mugo'' is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a small tree or shrub, planted in gardens and in larger pots and planters. It is also used in Japanese garden style landscapes, and for larger bonsai specimens. In Kosovo, its trunk is used as construction material for the vernacular architecture in the mountains called "Bosonica".{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}
=== Cultivars === Numerous cultivars have been selected. The following have been given the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:<ref>{{cite web |date=July 2017 |title=AGM Plants - Ornamental |url=https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf |access-date=2 May 2018 |publisher=Royal Horticultural Society |page=78}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}} * 'Humpy'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/69227/i-Pinus-mugo-i-Humpy/Details | title = RHS Plantfinder - ''Pinus mugo'' 'Humpy' | access-date = 2 May 2018}}</ref> * 'Kissen'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/48246/Pinus-mugo-Kissen/Details | title = ''Pinus mugo'' 'Kissen' | publisher = RHS | access-date = 18 January 2021}}</ref> * 'Mops'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/89481/i-Pinus-mugo-i-Mops/Details | title = RHS Plantfinder - ''Pinus mugo'' 'Mops' | access-date = 2 May 2018}}</ref> * 'Ophir'<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/94086/i-Pinus-mugo-i-Ophir/Details | title = RHS Plantfinder - ''Pinus mugo'' 'Ophir' | access-date = 2 May 2018}}</ref> {{Div col end}}
Cultivars with seasonal changes in foliage color include ''Pinus mugo'' 'Wintergold' and ''Pinus mugo'' 'Ophir'.
== Uses == The mugo pine is used in cooking. The young cones can be made into a syrup called "pinecone syrup",<ref name="Piccolo">{{Cite web |title=Piccolo Restaurant - Minneapolis: Menu |url=http://www.piccolompls.com/menu.html |access-date=15 July 2010}}</ref> "pine cone syrup",<ref name="Colicchio">{{Cite web |last=Colicchio |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Colicchio |date=3 March 2009 |title=Tom Tuesday Dinner March 3, 2009 |url=http://www.tomtuesdaydinner.com/img/menu-03-03-2009.png |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717071648/http://www.tomtuesdaydinner.com/img/menu-03-03-2009.png |archive-date=17 July 2011 |access-date=15 July 2010 |work=Tom Tuesday Dinner |format=PNG}}</ref> or mugolio. Buds and young cones are harvested from the wild in the spring and left to dry in the sun over the summer and into autumn. The cones and buds gradually drip syrup, which is then boiled down to a concentrate and combined with sugar.<ref name="Zing">{{Cite web | title = Wild Mugolio Pine Syrup | work = Zingerman's Mail Order | publisher = Zingerman's Mail Order LLC | year = 2010 | url = http://www.zingermans.com/Product.aspx?ProductID=P-WMP | access-date = 15 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | title = Wild Mugolio Pine Syrup | work = Cube Marketplace | publisher = Divine Pasta Company | year = 2008 | url = http://www.cubemarketplace.com/p-923-wild-mugolio-pine-syrup.aspx | access-date = 15 July 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091029035224/http://www.cubemarketplace.com/p-923-wild-mugolio-pine-syrup.aspx | archive-date = 29 October 2009 }}</ref> Alternatively, the pinecones can be macerated in sugar, fermented, and strained.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bergo |first=Alan |date=2020-10-23 |title=Mugolio: Pine Cone Syrup |url=https://foragerchef.com/mugolio-pine-cone-syrup/ |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Forager {{!}} Chef |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> Pinus mugo Rila 1.jpg|''Pinus mugo'' (subsp. ''mugo'') habitat. Rila National Park in Bulgaria. Pinus mugo Blüten.jpg|Female cones and young shoots Zwiesel 2014 - 5 044.JPG|Male pollen producing strobili File:Junge Zapfen.jpg|Young cones </gallery>
== See also == * ''Pinus'' × ''rhaetica''
==References== {{Reflist|2}}
== Sources == * Christensen, K.I. (1987). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717175221/http://www.botanic-garden.ku.dk/kic/NJB07_383-408_Pin-mugo.pdf Taxonomic revision of the ''Pinus mugo'' complex and ''P.'' × ''rhaetica'' (''P. mugo'' × ''sylvestris'') (Pinaceae)]. ''Nordic J. Bot''. 7: 383–408.
==External links== {{Commons category|Pinus mugo}} {{Wikispecies}} * [http://www.conifers.org/pi/pin/mugo.htm Gymnosperm Database - ''Pinus mugo''] * [http://www.pinetum.org/cones/PNPinus.htm Arboretum de Villadebelle - photos of cones (scroll down page)] * [http://www.euforgen.org/species/pinus-mugo/ ''Pinus mugo''] and [http://www.euforgen.org/species/pinus-uncinata/ ''Pinus uncinata''] - information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) * {{PFAF|Pinus mugo}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q147475}} {{Authority control}}
mugo Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of the Alps Category:Flora of the Carpathians Category:Flora of the Pyrenees Category:Flora of Austria Category:Flora of Bulgaria Category:Flora of the Czech Republic Category:Flora of Germany Category:Flora of Italy Category:Flora of Poland Category:Flora of Slovakia Category:Flora of Spain Category:Flora of Switzerland Category:Trees of Europe Category:Plants described in 1764 Category:Least concern plants Category:Edible plants Category:Garden plants of Europe Category:Plants used in bonsai Category:Ornamental trees