Caribbean pine


The Caribbean pine, Pinus caribaea, is a hard pine, native to Central America, Cuba, the Bahamas, South Florida, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It belongs to subsection Australes in subgenus Pinus. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coniferous forests such as Bahamian pineyards, in both lowland savannas and montane forests.

Taxonomy

As of 2013, the species has three accepted varieties:
It has been proposed that the pines of Australes subsection arrived to the Caribbean basin from Southeastern USA. Regarding the population on the Bahamas, it has been proposed that this species emigrated into the region from Florida four or five thousand years ago, long after the end of the Ice Age, as the climate became wetter. Based on fossil species assemblages it is believed that the environment on the Bahamas was much less forested and a dry savannah during the glacial maxim some 18,000 years ago when the sea level was some 120m lower than it is today.
Paleoclimatic and genetic data have been used to propose that Pinus caribaea ultimately originated in Central America. According to chloroplast genetic data, Pinus caribaea lineages colonized the Caribbean islands from populations in Central America at least twice.
It has been widely cultivated outside its natural range, and introduced populations can be found nowadays in Jamaica, Colombia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Fiji and China.

Ecology

Periodic wildfires play a major role in the distribution of this species; this tree regenerates quickly and aggressively, replacing broadleaf trees after fires. In zones not subject to periodic fires, the succession continues and the pine forest is replaced by tropical broadleaf forest. The young pines require extensive amounts of sunlight to grow, and are resistant to fire once they become adults.

Uses

Lumber and pulpwood from this tree shipped to Florida is the main export of the Abaco Islands.

Conservation

According to the IUCN, this species as a whole is considered of least concern, but two of the three varieties are considered endangered or vulnerable.