| Chilgoza pine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pinus gerardiana female cone | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Pinus |
| Subgenus: | P. subg.Strobus |
| Section: | P.sect. Quinquefoliae |
| Subsection: | P. subsect.Gerardianae |
| Species: | P. gerardiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Pinus gerardiana | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Pinus gerardiana, commonly known as thechilghoza pine orneja, is apine species native to parts of central and southern Asia, including the westernHimalayas. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed it as near threatened in 2011. Thepine nuts are locally collected for consumption.
Thetrees are 15–25 metres (49–82 ft) tall with usually deep, wide and opencrowns with long, erect branches. However, crowns are narrower and shallower in dense forests. Thebark is very flaky, peeling to reveal light greyish-green patches. Thebranchlets are smooth and olive-green. Theleaves are needle-like, in groups of three, 6–10 centimetres (2+1⁄2–4 in) long, and spread stiffly. They are glossy green on the outer surface, with blue-greenstomatal lines on the inner face; their sheaths fall in the first year. Thecones are 10–18 cm (4–7 in) long and9–11 cm (3+1⁄2–4+1⁄2 in) wide when open, with wrinkled, reflexedapophyses and anumbo curved inward at the base. Theseeds (pine nuts) are17–23 millimetres (5⁄8–7⁄8 in) long and5–7 mm (3⁄16–1⁄4 in) broad, with a thin shell and a rudimentary wing.[3]
P. gerardiana is similar to the closely relatedlacebark pine (Pinus bungeana), another pine with flaking bark. However,P. gerardiana has denser, longer, and more slender needles, as well as larger cones thanP. bungeana.[4]
The scientific name commemorates CaptainPatrick Gerard, aBritish army officer of theBengal Native Infantry.[4] who collected it during a 1823–25 military survey in India.[3]
It was first published in A.B.Lambert, Descr. Pinus, ed. 3, 2: 144 bis in 1832.[2]
P. gerardiana is native toAfghanistan,Pakistan,India, andTibet.[2] It grows at elevations of 1,800–3,350 m (5,910–10,990 ft).[1] It inhabits valley floors in theHimalayas, tending to grow among open vegetation on dry, sunny slopes.[1]
It often occurs in association withCedrus deodara,[3] andPinus wallichiana.
Since their seeds do not have a wing capable of enabling effective dispersal by wind, the seeds ofP. gerardiana are dispersed by birds.[1] TheEurasian nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes subsp.multipunctata) is one such species that does so.[3]
P. gerardiana is also a secondary host forHimalayan dwarf mistletoe.[5]
In 2011, this species was listed as near threatened on theIUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It was previously listed as Lower Risk/near threatened in 1998.P. gerardina forests have declined by an estimated 30% due toconversion of pine forests to farmland,intensive grazing, andoverharvesting of the seed cones and timber forfirewood.[1] The Himachal Pradesh State Forest Department has triedartificial regeneration of chilgoza pine at many places. However, performance of seedlings was found to be very poor.[citation needed]
Older trees that do not produce enough cones to harvest pine nuts from are felled for firewood. The wood is also used for local light construction and carpentry.[1]
Chilghoza seeds, or pine nuts, are harvested for consumption in autumn and early winter by knocking the cones off of the trees. The trees and seed harvesting rights are owned by local mountain clans and villages in some areas, from which they may be exported to markets in the northern Indian plains. In traditional harvesting practices, enough seeds are left behind for the forest to regenerate, but in areas controlled by private contractors, all cones are harvested.[1]
Chilgoza pine nuts are rich incarbohydrates andproteins. The seeds are locally referred to and marketed as "chilgoza", "neja" (singular) or "neje" (plural). Chilghoza is one of the most important cash crops of Afghanistan,[6][7][8] as well as ofKinnaur andPangi Valley ofChamba district ofHimachal Pradesh, India.[9] They are sold at approximately $20–$53 per kilograms in India.[citation needed]
