At the summits, spy...

1995/08/01 Terés, Joxepo Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Botanika

Within this family we will find trees and some bushes. These trees have persistent and very narrow, needle-shaped leaves, grouped into bundles of 2, 3 or 5. It has pyramidal crown and its branches are regularly bertiziladas. In this family it is very difficult to define well the distribution of the original species, since in many areas different species have been planted. However, and limited to the Basque Country, 4 species and a hybrid are allowed, with the remaining species and subspecies cultivated as original ( Pinus pinaster, P. syvestris, P. uncinata, P. halepensis and P. x rhaetica).

Although the mountain pine object of study can reach a height of 25 m, taking into account the skeletal soil and the unfavorable conditions that normally inhabits, we can observe much smaller specimens, being able to find some species of 15 m. It may also appear as creeping. Straight trunk, dark grey, deeply cracked and divided into tesserae. Its branches, dense and short, form a narrow and compact crown. The leaves, in the form of a needle, of 3 to 8 cm, are grouped in batches of two and the sawn farms, have a dark green color and meet a cycle of 2 to 5 years. The male cones are up to 5 cm, yellow and cylindrical, while the females are 10-12 cm., red-violet, solitary or verticious.

The pineapples, 3 to 6 cm., are brown and bright, with numerous winged seeds. It flowers in late spring or early summer, while pineapples arrive in two summers and seed distribution will occur in summer 3.

Prefers low compact and relatively humid soils. It is found especially between 1,600 and 2,400 m, although in some saws you can see 2,700 m. Its natural places are the Alps, the Iberian Range and the Pyrenees and in the Basque Country can only be found on the western slope of Mount Orhi of the Pyrenees.

It is a tree of slow growth and long life, up to 600 years. Colonize the subalpine estai in our territory. At the arrival of the pine tree, no other tree arrives, and plays an important ecological role, avoiding erosion and favoring different living beings. When this species develops well, it provides good quality wood and is used in construction.

Family: pinaceae Species: Distribution: rare and localized Habitat: Especially in soils of humidity above 1,600 m of altitude. Medicinal herb: - Quality control