Mountain Pine

Mountain pine
Botanical illustration of Pinus mugo
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Pinus
Subgenus:	Pinus
Species:	P. mugo
Binomial name
Pinus mugo Turra
Subspecies, cultivars, and forms
List P. mugo subsp. mugo Turra - Dwarf mountain pine P. mugo subsp. rotunda Janch. & H. Neumayer P. mugo subsp. uncinata (Ramond) Domin - Mountain pine P. mugo nothosubsp. rotundata Janch. & H. Neumayer P. mugo f. mughoides (Willk.) K.I.Chr. P. mugo Compacta P. mugo Frisia P. mugo Gnom P. mugo Hesse P. mugo Kobold P. mugo Kokarde P. mugo Mops P. mugo Pumilio P. mugo Slavinii P. mugo Variegata P. mugo Virgata
Distribution map
Synonyms
List Pinus × obliqua var. centrapedunculata Woerl. Pinus applanata (Booth ex Loudon) Willk. Pinus digenea Wettst. nom. illeg. Pinus echinata Carrière nom. inval. Pinus fischeri Booth ex P.Laws. nom. illeg. Pinus magellensis Schouw Pinus montana Mill. Pinus mugho Laichard. [Spelling variant] Pinus mughus Scop. Pinus obliqua var. centrapedunculata Woerl. Pinus pumilio (Haenke in Jirazek et al) Franco Pinus pumilio Haenke Pinus rostrata K.Koch nom. inval. Pinus rubriflora Loudon ex Gordon nom. inval. Pinus sanguinea Lapeyr. Pinus squamosa Bosc ex Loudon Pinus sylvestris var. montana (Mill.) Aiton Pinus sylvestris var. montana (Mill.) Dum. Cours. Pinus sylvestris var. montana (Mill.) Wahlenb. Pinus sylvestris var. palustris Hagenb. Pinus sylvestris var. pumilio (Haenke) Gaudin Pinus wettsteinii Fritsch

Pinus mugo, known as creeping pine,dwarf mountainpine,mugo pine,mountain pine, scrub mountain pine or Swiss mountain pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe.

Pinus mugo is native to the Pyrenees, Alps, Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines, and higher Balkan Peninsula mountains. It is usually found from 1,000–2,200 m (3,281–7,218 ft), occasionally as low as 200 m (656 ft) in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high as 2,700 m (8,858 ft) in the south of the range in Bulgaria and the Pyrenees.

Pinus mugo was planted in coastal Denmark for sand dune stabilization. It has naturalized and become invasive.

There are three subspecies:

Both subspecies have similar foliage, with dark green leaves ("needles") in pairs, 3–7 cm (1.2–2.8 in) long.

The cones are nut-brown, 2.5–5.5 cm (0.98–2.17 in) long: and in subsp. mugo are symmetrical, thin-scaled and matt textured; and in subsp. uncinata are asymmetrical with thick scales on the upper side of the cone, thin on the lower side, and glossy textured.

An old name for the species Pinus montana is still occasionally seen, and a typographical error "mugho" (first made in a prominent 18th century encyclopedia) is still repeated surprisingly often.

Pinus mugo subsp. mugo. Romania.

Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata.

Pinus mugo subsp. rotundata. Swiss National Park.

Pinus mugo Turra. Jakupica mountain, Republic of Macedonia.

Pinus mugo is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use as a small tree or shrub, planted in gardens and in larger pots and planters. It is also used in Japanese garden style landscapes, and for larger bonsai specimens.

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Wikipedia