Pinus halepensis
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
Aleppo pine, Jerusalem pine
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Gymnosperms
Flower colours
No flowers
Detailed description
Evergreen tree to 20 metres in height, often becoming asymmetrical. The single trunk divides into several main branches above to form an open, round-topped crown. Bark is scaly, dark grey on the outside and red-brown inside. Needles bright green, 6–10 cm long, often curved or twisted and held together in pairs by a basal sheath about 1 cm long. Buds are covered by scales with fringed edges. Cones 5–11 × 2.5–4 cm wide, reddish-brown in colour; they grow singly or in dense groups, hanging downwards on short stalks that bend backwards along the branch.
Similar taxa
Long needles in pairs. Cones hang down on a prominent thick stalk, and are arranged singly or in pairs.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Ecology
Year naturalised
1925
Origin
E. Mediterranean
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. Seed is dispersed by wind.
Other information
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.