PINUS OOCARPA: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, USES AND CULTIVATION - BIOLOGY - 2025

Pinus oocarpa is a conifer belonging to the Pinaceae family. It is commonly known as black pine, male ocote pine, resinous pine, hazel pine, yellow pine, Chinese ocote, blackish pine, red pine or red pine.

The Chinese ocote has a wide geographical distribution worldwide, although it is a native pine of Central America, being the second most important pine species in countries such as Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Pinus oocarpa. Source: Perkin_4036.JPG: Metztliderivative work: MPF

This pine grows at an altitude between 700 and 2000 meters above sea level, with normal dry seasons and severe drought. In many areas where this species grows naturally, there is a six-month period with average rainfall less than 50 mm.

In particular, individuals of Pinus oocarpa introduced in other countries show a better growth pattern, because in natural growth areas, trees are affected by the effect of hurricanes.

Pinus oocarpa is the pine species that produces the highest amount of resin in Mexico, which is considered an advantage for industries such as wood.

characteristics

Stem

The Pinus oocarpa is a medium-sized tree, having an approximate height of 12 to 18 meters, as well as a 40 to 75 cm in diameter. The shoots occur in spring and are uninodal covered with a waxy coating.

Leaves

The leaves are evergreen and appear in fascicles of 3, 4 or 5, each measuring between 15 and 30 cm long. The needles are erect. In addition, the leaves have resin ducts, mostly septal or internal.

Chinese ocote leaves. Source: Laurent Quéno

Cones

The flowering of this conifer occurs from November to February, and reaches its peak of flowering between December and January. The cones are very long, grow on the peduncle and have a mucronized edge. The cones are 4 to 10 cm long, with a long peduncle that supports them and they have a wide-ovate or ovate-conical shape.

The symmetry of the cones is sometimes oblique, persistent, more or less serotinous, with a shiny gray-yellow or yellow-green process, flat or convex, delicate and radially carinate. The wing of the seed is remarkably thick at its base.

For example, a subtropical species that goes from Guatemala to the northern border of Sinaloa, stands out for the length of the peduncle of the cone and for the septal prevalence of resin ducts in the leaf.

Seeds

The cones normally mature about 26 months after pollination, between the months of January to March. Therefore, the seeds become mature between February and March.

The seeds are shed when the cones open in response to high temperatures, as they are serotine.

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Class: Equisetopsida

Subclass: Pinidae

Order: Pinales

Family: Pinaceae

Genus: Pinus

Species: Pinus oocarpa Schiede (1838).

Habitat and distribution

The Chinese ocote is a species of pine native to Mexico and Central America, but it has been introduced in other tropical countries. Currently this conifer can be found in countries such as Brazil, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and some tropical countries in Asia and Africa.

Specifically in Mexico, this plant species is found in Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Durango, Jalisco, Morelos, Michoacán, in the southeast of Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, Hidalgo and Tlaxcala.

Cone of the Chinese ocote. Source: Sergio Hernández-León, David S. Gernandt, Jorge A. Pérez de la Rosa, Lev Jardón-Barbolla

Environmental conditions

The male ocote is found between an altitudinal range that goes from 300 to 3000 meters above sea level, at an average height of 1800 meters above sea level. In Mexico, the Pinus oocarpa is found between 15º and 27º north latitude and 92º and 99º west longitude.

Regarding the type of soil in which it develops, it can be leptosol and podsol, with characteristics of relative depth, sandy texture, with good drainage, reddish-brown color, pH of 4.5 to 8.8 (acidic to neutral), with a layer of organic matter between 10 and 15 cm deep, and with low fertility in these soils.

Depending on the natural growing conditions, this species develops in eroded soils, derived from ancient volcanic material and containing a large amount of quartz.

On the other hand, the optimum temperature for its growth is between 13 and 23 ºC. However, it can withstand certain minimum temperatures of 0ºC and maximum temperatures of 45ºC. P. oocarpa can withstand sporadic frosts.

Likewise, the precipitation that exists in the habitat of this pine is around 1,300 mm per year, with a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 2,600 mm per year.

Applications

The wood of this plant species is used for general construction, cabinetmaking, handicrafts, molds, to make paper pulp and, of course, as charcoal and firewood (fuel).

One of the most prominent uses of Pinus oocarpa is for the extraction of resin, which is used in the manufacture of pitch.

Culture

Pinus oocarpa is cultivated by means of sexual and asexual propagation. Twigs, layers, cuttings and cuttings are used for asexual propagation.

Young leaves of Pinus oocarpa. Source: tomsaint11 on Flickr

It is also possible to perform micropropagation through embryonic tissue explants, which are placed in a nutrient solution of phytohormones for 21 days. They are then transferred to a hormone-free solution and the pine seedlings are transferred to the ground under greenhouse conditions.

For its part, sexual reproduction is from seeds obtained from healthy individuals free of pests and diseases, of vigorous bearing and good fruit production, preferably with a straight stem and few or no branches at the low height of the tree.

In this sense, the sowing can be in individual jars or in seedling trays. It is recommended to use 1 or 2 seeds per container.

Regarding the substrate, the suitable mixture can be 55:35:10 of peat, vermiculite and perlite. Additionally, soil can be mixed with sand at a ratio of 3: 2, and mycorrhizae can be added to the substrate for greater success.

In addition, daily watering is recommended under germination conditions. Then in the seedbed, water the seedlings every 3 days until they measure 20 cm. Finally, fertilization must be with NPK 20-20-20 fertilizer, every 15 days, until its final transplant.

References

1. Azevedo Correa, A. 1983. Essencia papeleira de reflorestamento-III. Or Pinus oocarpa Shiede, introduced to Amazonia. Acta Amazonica 13 (3-4): 547-582.
2. Shaw, GR 1958. The genus Pinus. Publications of the Arnold Arboretum 5. The University of British Columbia. Pag 78. Taken from: biodiversitylibrary.org
3. Tropics. 2019. Pinus oocarpa Schiede ex Schltdl. Taken from: tropicos.org
4. Sire-Technological Packages. Pinus oocarpa Shiede. Taken from: conafor.gob.mx
5. Catalog of Life. 2019. Species details: Pinus oocarpa Schiede ex Schltdl. Taken from: catalogueoflife.org