Pinus muricata
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
Bishop pine
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Gymnosperms
Flower colours
No flowers
Detailed description
Medium sized tree up to 25 m high with straight trunk, and spreading or slightly drooping branches. Bark very thick, purplish-brown, deeply fissured into scaly plates. Needles held in pairs, up to 15 cm long arranged in untidy whorls. Two strains in NZ can be identified from needle colour: the ”blue” strain, with grey-green to blue-green needles: the ”green” strain with yellow-green needles. Male and female cones arise in separate clusters on young shoots. Mature female cones up to 8 cm long, covered in many stout, sharp spines, and are arranged in whorls around the branches.
Similar taxa
Long needles in pairs and the persistent, large, very prickly cones of Pinus muricata are distinctive.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Ecology
Year naturalised
1940
Origin
California, N. America
Reason for introduction
Forestry
Tolerances
Withstands salt-laden winds (Salmon 2000)
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. Reproduces by windborne seed.
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Extra information
The National Wilding Conifer Control Programme team at Biosecurity New Zealand, a branch of Ministry for Primary Industries, has produced this wilding conifer quick ID guide.
Etymology
muricata: Furnished with numerous short hard excrescences
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.
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PINMUR
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Salmon JT. 2000. The Trees in New Zealand: Exotic Trees: The Conifers. Reed Books, Auckland, NZ. 159 p.