Common Names
South Florida slash pine (1).Taxonomic notes
Syn: Pinus elliottii subsp. densa (Little & Dorman) Murray 1982; P. densa (Little & Dorman) Silba var. austro-keyensis Silba 1990; P. heterophylla (Elliott) Sudworth non Koch 1849, pro parte (e.g. Sudworth 1893, Sargent 1897) (2); Pinus densa (Little & Dorman) de Laubenfels & Silba. The name Pinus caribaea Morelet has been applied in error to P. elliottii var. densa (1, 2).Description
"Seedlings with vertical growth interrupted by grass stage, stem then more thickened, fascicles much more numerous and crowded around bud, and other buds more approximate on stem. Leaves mostly in 2s, sometimes in 3s on same shoot, resin canals per leaf 3-9, hypodermis (2-)3-4(-5) cell-layers thick. Seed-cone base mostly rounded when open" (1).This variety is best distinguished by its wood, which is heavier and harder than that of typical slash pine, and by its having a grass stage comparable to that of P. palustris (1).
Range
USA: Florida. Found in flatwoods, mostly over limestone, at 0-10 m elevation (1).Big Tree
Diameter 105 cm, height 20 m, crown spread 23 m, located in the University of South Florida, Sarasota, Florida (American Forests 1996).Oldest
Dendrochronology
Ethnobotany
This variety is not used for naval stores as is the type variety; neither is it commercially planted (1).Observations
Remarks
Citations
(1) Kral in the Flora of North America online.(2) Farjon & Styles 1997.
See also:
Little, Elbert L., Jr., and Keith W. Dorman. 1952. Slash pine (Pinus elliottii), its nomenclature and varieties. Journal of Forestry 50: 918-923.
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This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
URL: http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/2285/pi/pin/densa.htm
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
E-mail:earlecj@earthlink.net
Last modified on 21-Dec-98