Pinus nigra Arnold

A tree sometimes over 100 ft high in the wild, with a broad crown and a dark, plated bark, young shoots brown when ripe, glabrous; buds brown, slightly resinous, broadly ovoid at the base, narrowed abruptly at the apex to a slender point. Leaves in pairs, 3 to 6 in. long, up to 1⁄12 in. wide, falling in their fourth year, semi-terete, very minutely toothed, dark green, rather rigid; sheath about 1⁄2 in. long. Cones solitary, in pairs or in threes, ripe in their second year and then glossy brown, ovoid-conic or elongate-ovoid, 2 to 3 in. long, scales transversely ridged and sometimes terminated by a short prickle; seeds small, winged.

P. nigra (in the narrow sense as described above) has its northern limit south-west of Vienna, but its main distribution is from Istria and the Julian Alps southward through Yugoslavia to Greece; it has also been reported from a few localities in central and southern Italy. In Dalmatia it reaches to near sea-level on the Pelješac peninsula and on the island of Brač. The nurseryman Lawson of Edinburgh started to import seed of P. nigra in 1835 and two years later was offering one-year seedlings at 10 shillings a thousand.

The Austrian pine is very distinct in general appearance from, and decidedly inferior to, the Corsican pine (see var. maritima below). It has a rougher, shorter trunk, with more numerous branches, and heavier masses of darker green leaves, which on the whole are shorter, stiffer, and straighter than those of the var. maritima. The whole tree has a coarser, heavier aspect. It is very useful for growing on poor chalky soil, and as a shelter tree in bleak situations, especially near the sea. Its value as a timber tree is much less than that of var. maritima.

It appears to be a short-lived tree in cultivation, though the fact that it is so often planted in exposed positions may be the explanation for this. Some noteworthy specimens are: Keir House, Perths., pl. 1851, 75 × 13 ft (1970); Petworth House, Sussex, 112 × 111⁄2 ft (1961); Bicton, Devon, 88 × 131⁄4 ft (1968); Bolderwood, New Forest, Hants, 115 × 123⁄4 ft (1970).

P. nigra in the broad sense is a variable and wide-ranging species, and the typical variety or subspecies, discussed above, is only a segment of it. It is now necessary to turn to the other subdivisions of the species, which are here given in geographical order, from east to west:

From the Supplement (Vol. V)

specimens: Bolderwood, New Forest, Hants, 118 × 121⁄4 ft and 108 × 111⁄2 ft (1979); Oxford Botanic Garden, 80 × 133⁄4 ft (1983); Brocklesby Park, Lincs., 105 × 113⁄4 ft (1977); Althorp, Northants, 102 × 121⁄4 ft (1983); Dawyck, Peebl., 138 × 103⁄4 ft (1985); Keir House, Perths., 85 × 15 ft (1985).

var. caramanica – specimens: Dropmore, Bucks., pl. 1821, 98 × 143⁄4 ft at 3 ft (1982); Cuffnells, Lyndhurst, Hants, 132 × 123⁄4 ft (1980); Bramshott Hall, Hants, 105 × 131⁄4 ft (1983); Bolderwood, New Forest, Hants, 132 × 13 ft (1979); Hollycombe, Liphook, Hants, 100 × 13 ft (1984); Beauport, Sussex, 121 × 171⁄4 ft (1981); Kingston Lacy Nursery, Wimborne, Dorset, 111 × 171⁄2 ft at 3 ft (1983); Mells Park, Som., 111 × 14 ft (1975); Bicton, Devon, 102 × 121⁄4 ft (1977); Leighton Knolls, Shrewsbury, Shrops., 123 × 14 ft (1977); Tyninghame, E. Lothian, 132 × 14 ft (1984); Beaufort, Inv., 135 × 141⁄4 ft (1985).

var. maritima – specimens: Dropmore, Bucks., pl. 1829, 121 × 143⁄4 ft (1982); Warnham Court, Sussex, pl. 1834, 121 × 12 ft (1984); Scotney Castle, Kent, 132 × 93⁄4 ft (1984); Linton Park, Kent, 111 × 123⁄4 ft (1984); Cuffnells, Lyndhurst, Hants, pl. 1856, 130 × 10 ft (1980); Eastnor Castle, Heref., 135 × 121⁄4 ft and 138 × 121⁄4 ft (1984); Coed Coch, Abergele, Gwyn., 130 × 13 ft (1984).

var. cebennensis – specimens: University Botanic Garden, Cambridge, 60 × 81⁄2 ft (1976); National Pinetum, Bedgebury, Kent, pl. 1932, 82 × 53⁄4 ft and 85 × 51⁄2 ft (1983); Nonsuch Park, Epsom, Surrey, 82 × 10 ft (1983); Buscot House, Oxon., 82 × 81⁄4 ft and 105 × 81⁄2 ft (1981); Singleton Abbey, Swansea, 85 × 91⁄2 ft (1982).

† cv. ‘Hornibrookiana’. – This was raised from a witch’s broom found on an Austrian pine in Seneca Park, Rochester, USA and was named in 1932. It makes a small shrub, broader than high. Portrayed in Bull. Alp. Gard. Soc., Vol. 49, p. 134