Common Names
Thông Dà; lat, Thông Nam lá (Vietnamese) (3).Taxonomic notes
Syn: P. wallichiana var. dalatensis (1). "This pine resembles Pinus wallichiana (syn. P. griffithii) and P. strobus, but its pollen characteristics are different (Ferré, 1960) and it has been collected in only two localities, far away from both other pines. ... Due to the scant material available to botanists, this species still awaits verification of its taxonomic status" (2).Description
Evergreen tree to 15-25(45) m tall and 60-100(+) cm dbh. Crown conical, somewhat open. Young trees have resinous, longitudinally fissured bark. Needles in fascicles of 5, sheaths shed early. Female cone has 20-30 scales, yellowish brown maturing to dark grey. Seeds ovate, brown, winged. Cones begin to mature in February and March and reach maturity in October-December (3).Range
Vietnam: only on Ngoc Linh mountain (Kon Tum province) and in Chu Jang Sin (Lam Dong and Dac Lac provinces). Grows in dense, moist, evergreen subtropical forests, on yellow ferallitic soils or shallow dark gley soils, at elevations of more than 1500 m. Often in mixed stands with P. krempfii, P. insularis, Dacrydium elatum and Fokienia hodginsii. Regeneration occurs primarily at forest edges and along streams (3).Big Tree
Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
Due to its rarity, it is chiefly useful as an ornamental (3).Observations
Can only be seen within its very limited range, within which its continued survival is uncertain.Remarks
Listed as threatened in Viet Nam by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. "This is an endangered tree species, growing sparsely and regenerating only with much difficulty. The number of individuals is low and is continuously being reduced, its distribution becoming more and more confined to small isolated areas as its habitats are being destroyed. Strict protection is needed to preserve this valuable species" (3).Citations
(1) Silba 1986.(2) Farjon 1984.
(3) Forest Inventory and Planning Institute 1996.
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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/pi/pin/dalatensis.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.net
Last modified on 2-Jan-99