Pinus Gerardiana, Chilgoza pine USDA H7-hardy but hardier when older, for dryer sites, grafted- much faster than seed grown(@4-6”pa) Seed grown stock is available too(expect 1-2" growth pa)
Scientific name:Pinus gerardiana
N.Wallich ex D.Don 1832
Synonyms:
Pinus aucklandii Lodd. ex Gordon, Pinus chilghoza Knight, Pinus gerardii J.Forbes, Pinus neosa Gouan ex W.H.Baxter
Tree to 18(-25) m tall, with trunk to 1 m in diameter. Bark with multicolored scales flaking in irregular patches and becoming whiter with age. Crown dense, conical in youth, broadening and becoming rounded with age, with numerous long, sinuous, upwardly arched branches openly clothed with foliage near the tips. Twigs grayish green to yellowish green, hairless. Buds about 6-10 mm long, slightly resinous. Needles in bundles of three, each needle (5-)6-10(-12) cm long, stiff and straight, lasting 2(-3) years, dark green. Individual needles with limes of stomates on all three faces, an undivided midvein, and four to seven large resin canals scattered around the periphery next to the epidermis. Sheath 1-2 cm long, not shed until the second year. Pollen cones 7.5-15 mm long, yellowish brown. Seed cones (9-)15-20(-23) cm long, elongately egg-shaped, with 75-90 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening light reddish brown, opening widely to release the seeds and then falling, short-stalked. Seed scales paddle-shaped, the exposed portion markedly thickened with a variable length, prominent hooked projection curving down from the outer face and ending in a prickly umbo. Seed body like a giant, black grain of long-grained rice, very thin-shelled, 20-25 mm long, the readily detachable wing 4-5 mm longer and often remaining stuck to the seed scale.
Western Himalaya, from southeastern Afghanistan to western Kashmir and eastern Himachal Pradesh (India). Mixed with other conifers and hardwoods to from open woodlands in dryish flat valleys within the mountains; (1,800-)2,000-3,000(-3,350) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened
(Pinus gerardiana forests have declined and continue to decline throughout their extensive range. While there is insufficient range wide information to quantify this decline accurately, it is strongly suspected that it is approaching at least 30%. On this basis an assessment of Near Threatened)
