It is a truly ancient plant; some individuals can live for a thousand years...
Anyone who hears about the Pino Loricato (Bosnian pine) often hears about it because of the Pollino Park. Many people know the marvellous Giardino degli Dei, where a great many specimens are found.
It is a truly ancient plant; some individuals can live for a thousand years. They have a truly evocative look, so much so that the specimens are generally all different from one another.
Photo gallery
Fact sheet
- Range and distribution
- It is native to the Balkan Peninsula. In Italy the range of the Bosnian pine is concentrated in Calabria and Basilicata, in the Lucanian Apennines and on the Pollino massif, between 1600 and 2200 m above sea level, in extreme, rocky sites.
- Ecology
The Bosnian pine is a very ancient species (a true living fossil) and very long-lived. Indeed on the Pollino there are specimens of monumental size, known as the “patriarchs”, whose age has been estimated at about 900 years. The average age is estimated to be between 200 and 600 years. Its development (marked by very slow regeneration and growth) is threatened by grazing and above all by fires, seen as a form of protest against the creation of the park. Indeed one of the many Bosnian pines to fall victim to this shameful practice was “Zi' Peppe”, the pine that was the symbol of the National Park. Today the way people see the park is changing, and with it arson is also decreasing. The Bosnian pine lives on rocky south-facing slopes, in very extreme environmental conditions. Very cold in winter and at night, high temperatures and great aridity in summer. It reaches the upper limit of the forest vegetation, forming stable stands. It is a pioneer and light-loving species. It roots directly on rock or on high pastures, on limestone soils very rich in rock fragments.
- Habit
No two specimens are alike. The struggle with wind, frost and lightning leads the trees to take on variously twisted and gnarled shapes, becoming monuments to their pride and majesty. Adult specimens reach 25/30 m. It does not form true woods; more often we find it as scattered trees on the slopes or among the pioneer vegetation of pastures.
- Leaves
The leaves are dark green, needle-like, up to 9 cm long and sharply pointed, grouped in pairs to form dense, spreading clusters.
- Flowers and fruit
It flowers between late May and June. The male flowers are yellow, grouped in dense inflorescences; the female flowers are purplish dark red. They are found separately at the tips of the new shoots. The cones are 5 to 7 cm long and ripen in two years. In the first year they are violet-bluish, then when ripe they turn light brown.
- Bark
The bark is greyish with large hexagonal plates, fissured and shiny, to which it owes its Italian name “loricato”. Indeed it recalls the lorica, the armour of metal plates worn by Roman legionaries. The oldest specimens lose their plates and show a completely white, shiny trunk. The branches have whitish bark (hence the Latin name leucodermis, meaning white-skinned), which stays that way for many years. The high resin content of the trunk protects the wood from rotting. Indeed even when the tree dies, it stays standing for years, becoming magnificent, majestic monuments.
- Uses
- No use... it is a protected tree.