Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon, Gard. Mag. & Reg. Rural Domest. Improv. 16: 8 1840. (syn: Pinus insularis var. khasyana (Griff.) Silba; Pinus kasya Royle ex Parl.; Pinus khasia Engelm.; Pinus khasya Hook.f.; Pinus khasyana Griff.);  
Assam to China (W. Yunnan) and Indo-China, Philippines as per WCSP;
NE India: Assam; China: Yunnan; Indochina: Kampuchea [Cambodia], Lao PDR,
Myanmar [Burma], Thailand
as per Catalogue of Life;
 

Widely distributed in south and southeast Asia occurring in China: Yunnan, extreme SE Xizang [Tibet], S Sichuan; NE India: Assam; Myanmar; Lao PDR; Thailand; Cambodia; Viet Nam; and the Philippines (Luzon). A widespread species whose extent of occurrence and area of occupancy are well beyond the thresholds for a threatened category. In Cambodia it is only known from a single stand (Thomas et al. 2007) 

Pinus kesiya occurs in pine savannas, pure stands with nearly closed canopy, and mixed pine-broad-leaved forests in valleys with e.g. Quercus serrata and Alnus nepalensis along streams. It occupies drier sites in NE India, Myanmar and Thailand, at altitudes generally between 800 and 1,500 m a.s.l., occasionally to 2,000 m. Further east, in Lao PDR, Viet Nam and on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, its altitudinal range is greater and it is found up to 2,700-3,000 m a.s.l. in a much wetter climate. In Lao PDR it grows in pure stands or mixed with Pinus merkusii (Paek Sorng Bai) and Keteleeria evelyniana (Hing). Angiosperm associates includes Schima wallichii, Quercus serrata and Quercus griffithii. Despite the wetter climate fires are frequent, creating an open, grass-dominated woodland or savanna with scattered stands of pines or solitary trees. The soils are usually sandy or loamy and derived from sandstone or quarzite. Pinus kesiya is often a pioneer in deforested secondary vegetation, especially if fire has been a factor in the disturbance.  
Citation: Farjon, A. 2013. Pinus kesiya. In: IUCN 2013. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 December 2013


In English it is commonly known as either:
  • the Khasi pine (from the Khasi hills in India)
  • the Benguet pine (from the landlocked province of Benguet in Luzon, Philippines, where it is the dominant species of the Luzon tropical pine forests)
  • the Three-needled pine.
Pinus kesiya is a tree reaching up to 30–35 m tall with straight, cylindrical trunk. The bark is thick, dark brown, with deep longitudinal fissures. The branches are robust, red brown from the second year, the branchlets horizontal to drooping. The leaves are needle-like, dark green, usually 3 per fascicle, 15–20 cm long, the fascicle sheath 1–2 cm long and persistent. The cones are ovoid, 5–9 cm long, often curved downwards, sometimes slightly distorted; the scales of second-year cones are dense, the umbo a little convex, sometimes acutely spinous. The scales have transverse and longitudinal ridges across the middle of the scale surface. The seeds are winged, 6–7 mm long with a 1.5-2.5 cm wing. Pollination is in mid spring, with the cones maturing 18–20 months after.  
The soft and light timber of Pinus kesiya can be used for a wide range of applications, including boxes, paper pulp, and temporary electric poles. It is intensely used for timber, both sourced in natural forests and plantations.[2][3]  
(From Wikipedia n 18.12.13)


 
 

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Gymnosperm fortnight: Pinus insularis : Attachments (1).  2 posts by 2 authors.

A photo of Pinus insularis with female cone from Shillong. Please give information regarding valid name.


GRIN & IUCN Red List give it as a syn. of Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon, while The Plant list gives it as a syn. of Pinus kesiya var. langbianensis (A.Chev.) Gaussen ex Bui
Flora of China gives P. kesiya var. langbianensis (A. Chevalier) Gaussen ex Bui as a syn. of Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon.
This all boils down to the accepted name as Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon.


 
This Pine tree was spotted at shillong. ID


Pinaceae : Not the biggest family by genera(mere 11 genera) but it does have the most known species 225.

3 biggest genera include the most economically valuable trees of all

Pinus – the Pines

Abies – The Firs

Picea – The Spruces.


Appears similar to Pinus kesiya Royle ex Gordon posted by … as per efi thread


 

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Request for identification-D3 : 5 posts by 3 authors. Attachments (1) – 1 MB.

Kindly request you to identify with scientific name. This photo has been taken in East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya.

Pinus roxburghii  


This tree is Pinus kesiya, a gymnosperm (Fam: Pinaceae