Scientific name: Pinus kesiya Royle ex G.Gordon 1840

Synonyms:Pinus cavendishiana Parl., Pinus kasya Royle ex Parl., Pinus khasia Engelm., Pinus khasya Hook.f., Pinus khasyana Griff.

Common names: Benguet pine, Khasia pine, Khasi pine, Luzon pine, Ding-se (Khasi), Tinyu (Burmese), Ka xi song(Chinese), Thông ba lá (Vietnamese), Son sam bai (Thai), Saleng (Pilipino)

Description

Tree to 30(-45) m tall, with trunk to 0.6(-1) m in diameter. Bark thick, reddish brown to grayish brown with reddish highlights, breaking up into interrupted, platelike ridges separated by narrow, deep furrows. Crown open, narrowly dome-shaped, flattening with age, with numerous short, contorted, horizontal branches thinly clothed with foliage near the tips. Twigs yellowish brown to rich, bright brown, hairless, rough with the bases of scale leaves until these peel away in the second or third year. Buds 15-20 mm long, not resinous. Needles in bundles of (two or) three (or four), each needle (10-)12-22(-27) cm long, very slender and flexible, lasting 2 years, light green to grayish green. Pollen cones densely crowded, (15-)25-30 mm long, yellowish brown. Seed cones (4-)5-7.5(-10) cm long, egg-shaped, symmetrical or slightly asymmetrical, with 55-110 seed scales, green before maturity, ripening medium brown, opening widely to release the seeds and then persisting several years before falling with the short stalk to 1 cm long. Seed body 5-6(-8) mm long, the easily detachable wing another 12-16(-20) mm longer.

Southeastern Asia, from northeastern India and southwestern China – southeastern Xizang (Tibet) and western Yunnan – through Myanmar, northern Thailand, and Laos to southern Vietnam (generally near Dalat) and also in northern Luzon Island (Philippines). Forming pure open stands on poor, fire-prone hillsides or mixed with hardwoods; (300-)700-2,000(-2,700) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

(Pinus kesiya and its two varieties are assessed as Least Concern as there is no range wide decline and it is increasing in some parts of its range due to changes in land-use and management)

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.

Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland