| DESCRIPTION: It is a fine evergreen tree usually reaching 20-30 m in height but often up to 35 m, with a diameter of 50-80 cm and occasionally up to 1 m. The trunk generally straight and well formed. USE: The wood is used as pulp for paper and as fuel. However, it throws out sparks when burning. It can be tapped for rasin and the bark contains tannin. The leaf oil is sometimes used for medicinal baths, locally, the seeds may be consumed. In many places where the tree grows, the mat of needles on the ground is considered valuable for the protection of the soil surface from erosion. In Sri Lanka a massive reforestation programme was undertaken with the tree convert heavily eroded lands on which nothing else could be grown. It is the only species so far successfully used to clothe barren eroded and denuded lands with a tree cover. GROWING PERIOD: Perennial. COMMON NAMES: Caribbean pine, Caribbean pitch pine, Nicaragua pine, pitch pine, slash pine. FURTHER INF: It grows best in frost-free areas up to about 700 m in more fertile sites with good subsoil drainage and annual rainfall of 2000-3000 mm. Soils are usually loams or sandy loams, sometimes with high amounts of gravel and generally well drained. The pH is usually between 5.0 and 5.5. Generally at elevations of 600-800 m it is associated with P. oocarpa var. hondurensis and P. oocarpa var. ochoterenai. Pinus caribea is rated as moderately fire resistant. It tolerates salt winds and hence may be planted near the coast. |
