Pine / Pin / Bor

Description:

Pinus pinea is an evergreen tree growing to 10 m. This one was planted few years ago along one of the main roads in Rovinj. It is in flowering from May to June, and the seeds ripen in April. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by wind. The plant is not self-fertile.

Habitat:

Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil (well as you can see on the photo above, there is a little soil, so yes, it is really adapted in a good way to survive on poor especially humus poor soil as a red soil in Istria). Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade, that's also the reason why it is often planted along roads in alleys. It prefers dry or moist soil and it can tolerate drought which regularly happens during the summer in Istria. The plant can tolerates strong winds and as I remember from the school days this is probably one of the most windy places in my hometown but as it can be noticed on the photo, it is doing well :). This trees are essential for many lifeforms for example red squirrel's nutrition is completely depending on its seeds! Pine trees are particularly important to our culture on the Istrian peninsula where we are still living next to ancient Roman remains and where ever Roman legions would pass they would plant this pine trees (there is a saying that every road leads to Rome).

Notes:

Apart from being important for nutrition of animals, pine tree seeds make an important gastronomic part of Istrian culture. Rich in oil, the seed has a soft texture with a hint of resin in the flavor. It could be used to make some delicious snacks. The seeds are often added to ice cream, cakes, puddings or pies but we can't forget that this is a main ingredient of Italian Pesto Genovese. They can also be ground into a powder and used as a thickener while making a soups. Basically, whole Adriatic is not Mediterranean is culturally depending on this trees.