Pine family, Pinaceae
Origin: the Alps and Carpathians
Habitat in the original area: mountain areas, individual trees can appear also above the upper forest
Habitus: A 10–20 metres tall tree. Its crown is dense, conical and with branches often reaching the ground. The bark is smooth when young, later cracking. The shoots are covered with fine rusty trichomes.
Leaf: The needles are 5–8 centimetres long and are clustered in bundles of five. They are dark green in colour; they are straight, stiff, with a blunt tip at the top and their edge is finely serrated.
Bloom, fruit: The cones are ovoid to spherical in shape. They grow on short stalks and are often in groups of 2–3. Young cones are purple, turn brown when ripe, but remain closed, and fall off together with the wingless seeds.
Interesting fact: The seeds of this pine are called limb nuts. They lack the membranous rim that would allow wind dispersal. The seeds are edible and contain a lot of oil.
