By Antonio G. Papa
Baguio City is is dubbed as the City of Pines because most of the mountainous parts of the city is planted with various varieties of pine trees.
It is also called the summer capital of the Philippines because the place is one of the highest peak in the country, and during the hot season, the city is a favorite escapade of Filipinos, as well as foreign visitors.
An alternative to Baguio City as a destination during the hot season is Tagaytay City in Cavite province. It has a cool weather that is also suited for summer vacation, both for the local and foreign guests.
The landscape in Tagaytay City, especially the vegetation along the Tagaytay ridge, overseeing the Taal Lake and Volcano, has been planted with towering trees, called lodgepole pine tree, scientifically known as Pinus contorta.
In the suburb of Tagaytay City, such as in the municipalities of Alfonso, Amadeo, Mendez and Indang, considered as upland towns of Cavite, lodgepole pine trees and other varieties of the trees could be seen as a beautiful landscape.
While the places are planted to various trees, both forest and fruit trees, on a drive from the lowland municipalities of Cavite going to Tagaytay City, one will see the towering trees, dark green in color, with semblance to a Christmas tree.
In the main campus of the Cavite State University in Indang, Cavite, one will appreciate the towering and beautifully lined up lodgepole pine trees in the entrance. They were planted in the 1980s and add beauty to CSU’s green campus, named Don Severino de las Alas Campus, occupying more than 70 hectares of land area.
By the way, forest lodgepole pine trees cover up to 50 million acres in the western regions of North America. Native Americans used the straight and slender poles of the trees to support their lodges. These pines can grow up to 150 feet and live up to 400 years.
According to Bonnie Singletone, the lodgepole pine tree is sometimes called black pine or tamarack pine. In addition to its use as a wood source, it also provides major tree cover in many scenic, and recreational, areas and on critical waterlands, as well as wildlife habitat.
Singletone further described the climatic requirements of the pine tree, its characteristics and its growing conditions.
Climatic requirements
Lodgepole pine trees grow in areas with low temperatures of negative 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the Northern Rocky Mountains to 100 degrees F in lower elevations. They can survive frost but have low tolerance to drought.
The pines can thrive in areas with an annual precipitation ranging from 10 inches to 200 inches. They do not tolerate shade well and prefer full sunlight.
Characteristics
The average size of a lodgepole pine tree is 24 inches in diameter and 70 feet high, although slimmer specimens of only 5 inches in diameter may reach 50 feet.
The branches have needle-like leaves in bunches of two that vary from yellow-green to dark-green and are slightly twisted, giving the tree its scientific name, Pinus contorta.
Lodgepole pine trees produce viable seed early in their lifespan at around five to 10 years, and they are prolific seed producers, with seeds stored in cones remaining viable for years. In fact, the cones have a resin between their scales that only breaks when the temperature reaches 113 degrees F to 140 degrees F.
Growing conditions
Lodgepole pines tolerate a variety of soils but prefer the soil with pH ranging from 6.2 to 7.5 that is moderately moist.
The optimal soil base for the lodgepole pine is a medium-textured soil derived from granitic, shale or coarse-grained lava materials.
Lodgepole pine trees have no tolerance for salinity, either on soil or in water.
Medicinal tree
Besides the aesthetic its significance, Lodgepole pine tree has an important use as timber. Likewise, the tree has also medicinal usage. Accordingly, the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest and of California use different parts of the plant, internally and externally, as a traditional medicine for various ailments.
Hence, lodgepole pine trees help beautify the place and serve as a source of livelihood for its timber. It has also medicinal significance to mankind.
1 comment
Please do not encourage non-native pine trees. We’re already dealing with habitat destruction and human encroachment and now this…