Pine, Japanese Black

Japanese Black Pine, an introduced evergreen, can reach the height of 130 ft, but rarely achieves this size outside its natural range, e.g. Japan. Typically we see it only reaching heights of 20-30 ft.

Because of its resistance to pollution and salt, it is a popular horticultural tree. Its spreading, loosely swaying branches are orange-yellow in color, and form an irregular silhouette.

The NEEDLES are in fascicles of two with a white sheath at the base, 7-12 cm long

The female CONES are 4-7 cm in length, scaled, with small points on the tips of the scales, taking two years to mature. Male cones are 1-2 cm long borne in clumps of 12-20 on the tips of the spring growth. The large, grayish-white terminal buds are oblong, with fringed scales at the tips. After 4 or 5 years of age, nut-brown colored, short-stalked cones, 2-3 inches long, are produced. Fruiting and seed production are usually prolific. There are 34,000 SEEDS per pound.

In North America this tree is subject to widespread mortality by the native American Pinewood Nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, spread by means of beetle vectors. Subsequently, blue stain fungus invades the plant, leading to a rapid decline and death

BARK is gray on young trees and small branches, changing to black and plated on larger branches and the trunk; becoming quite thick on older trunks. The blackish-gray bark is furrowed into irregular plates.