Japanese White-pine (bonsai)
Pinus parviflora 'Bonsai'
Pine familiy (Pinaceae)
Popular with nutcrackers
In Korea and Japan this pine species can reach 25 meters high in the wild, yet in our part of the world it usually reaches no higher than 6 meters. Often slow-growing individuals from higher mountain slopes are selected to become the bonsai tree, Pinus parviflora 'bonsai' (see ‘Read on’).
The blue-green needles are highly twisted (such as with the Scots pine) but are borne in bundles of five at the end of the twigs, from whence the tree gets its brush-like top. Seeds of most pines each have a wing so that they can be dispersed by the wind but the Japanese white pine seed has no wings. Instead for dispersal they are dependent on a bird: the spotted nutcracker.
The resin extracted from these conifers contains substances that have antiseptic properties and provides beneficial effects for, amongst other things, the respiratory system.
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Bonsai is a Japanese word that literally means 'tree in a pot'. Bonsai refers to manipulating the plant to keep the plant's habit small but at the same time giving the illusion of being a large, mature plant. This is achieved by branch and root pruning, cultivating the plants in small pots and by using thread to help the stems and branches grow into the desired shape. In this way, a tree that naturally grows to tens of meters in height can become a graceful specimen with houseplant dimensions.
Details
Description: | Conifer, minature shape in containers, monoecious. |
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Distributions: | Only found in cultivation. |
Habitat: | Pinus parviflora occurs at altitudes from just above sea level to about 2,500 m, with an optimum between 1,000 and 1,500 m, in montane forests. it is found in both pure and mixed stands with other conifers and also with angiosperms, usually on steep slopes, dry sites or rocky ridges. |
Year cycle: | Perennial (polycarpic evergreen) |
Hardiness: | 23 - 34 f (half-hardy - unheated glasshouse/mild winter) |
Flowering period: | Mei |
Flower color: | Yellow, purple |
Notes on flowers: | Species is monoecious; males cones cylindrical, purple ripening to yellow, near branch tip; females yellow to purple. |
Fruiting period: | September - oktober |
Fruit color: | Green, brown |
Notes on fruits: | A small, egg-shaped cone with leathery scales, large seeds, ripening in early autumn to a reddish brown and can remain on the tree for several years. |