Some Shoot and Cone Characteristics of Taiwan Red Pine

Abstract

Taiwan red pine (Pinus taiwanensis Hayata) is endemic to the island of Taiwan, or Formosa (Li, 1963). It is one of the so-called uninodal pines - that is, its winter bud elongates to form an unbranched axis bearing lateral long shoot buds only near the distal end. However, it is remarkably prone to lammas growth or summer shoots (premature elongation of a newly formed dormant bud) and to several other anomalous forms of behavior. Some of these strongly affect tree form; others are economically unimportant but serve to illustrate further the morphological plasticity within the genus Pinus. The observations reported here were made in early March 1969, in natural stands, plantations, nurseries, and a seed orchard.