Siberian Dwarf Pine
The
Siberian Dwarf Pine (
Pinus pumila} is a native to northeastern
Asia, including the islands of
Japan. This shrubby
pine ranges from 1-3 m in height, exceptionally up to 5 m, but may have individual branches that extend farther along the ground in length.
The needles are formed in bundles of five and are about 4-6 cm long. The cones are 2.5-4.5 cm long, with large nut-like seeds (
pine nuts). The seeds are harvested and dispersed by the
Spotted Nutcracker (
Nucifraga caryocatactes).
It is also known as the Dwarf Siberian Pine and Japanese Stone Pine.
In the mountains of northern
Japan, it sometimes hybridises with the related
Japanese White Pine (
Pinus parviflora); these hybrids (
Pinus x hakkodensis) are larger than
P. pumila, reaching 8-10 m tall on occasion.
