Pine
| Pine Temporal range: Possible records from Jurassic
| |
|---|---|
| Pinus jeffreyi | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Subfamily: | Pinoideae |
| Genus: | Pinus L. |
| Type species | |
| Pinus sylvestris | |
| Subgenera | |
|
See List of Pinus species for complete taxonomy to species level. See list of pines by region for list of species by geographic distribution. | |
| Pinus distribution: circumpolar, with extensive taiga forest, almost entirely Northern hemisphere | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
A pine is any conifer in the genus Pinus (/ˈpaɪ.nəs/) of the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The species are evergreen trees or shrubs with their leaves in bunches, usually of 2 to 5 needles. The seeds are carried on woody cones, with two seeds to each cone scale.
Pines are widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere; they occupy large areas of taiga (boreal forest), but are found in many habitats, including the Mediterranean Basin, and dry tropical forests in southeast Asia and Central America. Some are fire-resistant or fire-dependent.
Pine trees provide one of the most extensively used types of timber. The pine nuts are used to make dishes such as pesto, while retsina wine is flavoured with pine resin.