Download Belize Savanna Factsheet C1 Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea)

Belize Savanna Factsheet C1
Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea)
The most distinctive tree of the Belizean savanna is the pine tree.
Pines are a member of the gymnosperms which literally
means ‘naked seed’. This is because the ovule (which
develops into the seed) is not enclosed during
fertilisation within a fruit-like structure like it is in flowering
plants. Gymnosperms are an ancient lineage of plants
that were abundant during the era of the dinosaurs.
Pines are wind ‘pollinated’ and do not have flowers.
They bear their seeds in distinctive pine cone. Other
gymnosperms in Belize include the cycads that are
common in the savanna and mountain cypress
(Podocarpus guatemalensis) a tree found particularly in
upland forests.
Caribbean Pine is very important for timber, so large areas of lowland savannas
and Mountain Pine Ridge are managed as Forest Reserves to allow the sustainable
extraction of timber. Pine timber is used mainly for construction and furniture.
Caribbean pine is such a good timber species that it is actually grown commercially
across the world for its timber! The source of much of the Pinus caribaea grown
globally comes from seed from the Mountain Pine Ridge.
Pine is also incredibly important for the
endangered yellow-headed parrot.
[See Factsheet No. D2] Tall, mature pine
trees with holes in their trunks are the
perfect nesting place for this beautiful
savanna bird.
Most pine in the lowland savannas of
Belize is thought to be Pinus caribaea,
however at higher elevations another
species also occurs. Some people think
that this species is Pinus oocarpa,
however recent scientific work suggests that it is Pinus tecunumanii.
References:
FARJON, A. & STYLES, B. T. (1997). Pinus (Pinaceae). In: Flora Neotropica. New York
Botanical Garden.
Conservation of the Lowland Savanna Ecosystem: Belize
www.eeo.ed.ac.uk/sea-belize
HICKS, J., et al. (In Press). A Floristic Description of the San Pastor Savanna and
Preliminary Checklist of the Savannas of Belize, Central America. Edinburgh
Journal of Botany.
Conservation of the Lowland Savanna Ecosystem: Belize
www.eeo.ed.ac.uk/sea-belize