Pinus montezumae Lamb.

A tree up to 100 ft high in the wild, with a thick bark, furrowed even on quite young trees; stems rough from the persistent bracts; buds ovoid, with narrow, fringed scales. Leaves usually in fives (occasionally in sixes or sevens), 51⁄2 to 10 in. long, occasionally longer, variable in thickness, flexible, spreading or pendulous, finely toothed, triangular in cross-section, with stomata on all three surfaces; sheaths 3⁄8 to 3⁄4 in. long, sometimes longer. Young cones purple or dark blue, prickly. Mature cones ovoid to narrowly so or cylindrical, 31⁄2 to 6 in. long, sometimes longer, dull or slightly lustrous brown, thick and tough, the exposed part more or less raised, transversely keeled, with a short, usually deciduous prickle.

Native of southern and central Mexico at subtropical and cool temperate latitudes, with its best development at 7,000 to 8,000 ft; also of Guatemala; introduced by Hartweg in 1839. All the trees grown as P. montezumae in Britain are of later date, and their identity is uncertain. They have grey-green leaves which stand out stiffly all round the shoots as in a chimney-sweeper’s brush, whereas in typical P. montezumae the leaves do not have a grey tinge and they are usually more or less drooping; on the other hand they are quite as long as in P. montezumae. The cones should decide the matter, but they do not reach maturity in these cultivated trees. The fact that the leaves are borne in fives is of no significance, since the number of leaves per bundle is not a wholly reliable character for separating P. montezumae from P. hartwegii and P. rudis.

The tree at Grayswood Hill, Haslemere, Surrey, is the oldest of which the planting date is known; accepted as typical P. montezumae by Elwes and Henry, it was planted in 1881 and measures 55 × 91⁄4 ft (1968). A tree at Endsleigh, Devon, must be older than the Grayswood Hill tree; it measured 50 × 91⁄2 ft in 1906 and is now 65 × 14 ft (1970). Others are: Sheffield Park, Sussex, 50 × 7 ft (1968); Bicton, Devon, 69 × 6 ft (1968); Sidbury Manor, Devon, pl. 1902, 48 × 101⁄4 ft (1959); Mount Usher, Co. Wicklow, Eire, pl. 1909, 54 × 93⁄4 ft (1966) and a smaller tree pl. 1925 [Plate 35]. In the National Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, there is an example of 36 × 63⁄4 ft (1974).

Apart from their remarkable foliage, these trees are also very distinct in their broad, dome-shaped crowns.

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

specimens: Grayswood Hill, Haslemere, Surrey, pl. 1881, 60 × 101⁄2 ft (1982); Sheffield Park, Sussex, grafted on P. strobus, 70 × 81⁄4 ft (1984); Red Rice College, Hants, 62 × 63⁄4 ft (1982); Sidbury Manor, Devon, pl. 1902, 56 × 12 ft (1977); Endsleigh, Devon, 51 × 91⁄4 ft (1977); Tregrehan, Cornwall, 85 × 73⁄4 ft (1979); Bodnant, Gwyn., 72 × 91⁄4 ft (1984); Beaufront Castle, Northumb., 38 × 8 ft (1982); Culzean Castle, Ayrs., pl. 1910, 58 × 71⁄4 ft (1984); Cairnsmore, Kirkc., 55 × 81⁄2 ft (1984); National Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, Eire, pl. 1899, 40 × 7 ft (1980); Mount Usher, Co. Wicklow, Eire, pl. 1909, 60 × 11⁄2 ft and, pl. 1925, 51 × 61⁄2 ft (1975); Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow, Eire, pl. 1899, 40 × 7 ft (1980).