Aleppo pine
Pinus halepensis
Family · Pinaceae · Harmless
The most recorded conifer in the Peninsula, and the one that takes heat and limestone where no other pine will. A pale, irregular, almost see-through crown, very unlike the dense foliage of maritime pine.
Scrubland · Uplands · Fields and pasture · Dunes and sand
Also known asJerusalem pine
How to tell it
Needles in pairs, thin, short and pale, almost yellowish green. Conical asymmetric cones pointing backwards along the branch, staying closed on the tree for years. Bark grey and smooth above, dark and cracked below.
What it is confused with
Maritime pine
Pinus pinaster
The needle decides: maritime pine's is thick, stiff and very long, Aleppo pine's is thin, short and pale. And the Aleppo crown lets light through.
Open sheet →What it is for
Reforestation on dry limestone ground across the Mediterranean, and resin in the past. Holding closed cones for years is a fire strategy: they open with heat and seed the burnt ground.