Pinus luchuensis seed

LATIN NAME: PINUS LUCHUENSIS

COMMON NAME: Luchu Pine

The Luchu pine fans the tall, open-crowned, evergreen tree with the long, paired, grey-green needles that spread in the soft tufts at the branch tips and the small, oval cones that ripen through the second season, the bark flaking in the grey-brown plates. The crown opens into the broad, irregular, picturesque form, and the tree stands the salt wind and the dry spells well. It likes the sun, and the deep, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The wind-shaped crown of the Luchu pine gives it a place in the research on the coastal windbreak trees of the east-Asian islands, and the species appears in the studies of the salt-laden wind tolerance and the reforestation of the eroded slopes. The work looks at the cone and seed biology, the way the needles hold through the dry spells, and the establishment on the exposed coasts. The shelter it gives keeps the ecologists interested, and the growers of the coastal ornamental pines keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the coastal garden, the Luchu pine fans the grey-green needles against the sea wind. The open, picturesque crown makes the strong windbreak and the shelter for the smaller plants, it holds the sandy soil on the exposed banks, and the timber serves the construction and the fuel. It thrives in the deep, well-drained, sunny ground. Wind-hardy, picturesque and tough.

To grow the Luchu Pine from seed, shake the winged seeds from the ripe cones, then press them onto the moist, gritty surface of the seed tray, keep the mix lightly moist through the cool spell, and the seedlings come up in the weeks after.

Keep the mix lightly moist, and pot the seedlings on once they hold their first true needles. The open crown comes over the years. Settle the young pines in the sunny, open ground, and the crown will fan against the sky.

Pinus luchuensis, commonly called Luchu pine or Okinawa pine,