Common Name:
chir pine
Family Name:
Pinaceae
Botanical Name:
Pinus roxburghii
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
The Pinus roxburghii is a coniferous tree that produces pine cones that are gymnosperm (naked seeds). This species has dark-brown, thick deeply longitudinal fissured bark. The leaves are grouped three per bundle, slender, flexible, and are flabellate-triangular at the cross sections. The pine cones are shortly pedunculate and ovoid in shape. The seed cones have oblong, thick, stiff scales (5).
Compound:
Pin rox
Geographic Origin:
India
Ecozone Origin:
Indomalaya
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
The chir pine was named after William Roxburgh, a Scottish botanist known as the founding father of Indian botany. India is where William discovered the chir pine (4). This pine has been distributed to the Himalayan mountains — Bhutan; India — Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himanchal Pradesh, Uttarakhand; Nepal; Pakistan; Sikkim; Afghasistan; and southern Tibet (6).
Cultivation Notes:
When planting the chir pine it is best to do it in the late winter if the seed is not ripe (2). As it grows you can move the tree into its permanent spot once it reaches 11-35 inches tall (2). The chir pine is a very hardy pine tree that can with stand drought and high temperatures, requiring full sun exposure to grow (1). While the tree is young it requires weekly watering, but as it matures only once a month (1). The chir pine is more suited for spacious areas instead of residential areas because of its massive root system (1).
Ethnobotany:
Like most pine trees the chir pine has many medicinal uses. The oil and turpentine from the tree can be used as a rub or in a steam bath to sooth muscles (2). It’s also used in inhalers for respiratory infections, it is also used in creams for skin irritations (2). The chir pine oil is used as an antiseptic, a cream that help with vascular circulation, and repels parasites from the body (2). Rosin is another by product of the chir pine that can be used in waterproofing products and wood preservers (2). Another use for rosin is by applying it to a bow for a wooded instrument (2). The Pinus roxburghii wood is also used for construction because of how hard it is (2). If you want to be creative the charcoal from the leaves can be mixed with rice water and used as an ink (2). Over all the chir pine has a lot of uses from medical to construction.
Height:
50 - 100 feet
Width:
20 - 50 feet
Growth Rate:
Moderate Growing
Grow Season:
Summer
Flower Season:
Fall
Color:
Green
Function:
Accent
Spread:
Spreading
Allergen:
Allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
Moderate Water Use
