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Wintery Splendor of the Lacebark Pine
Pinus bungeana or Lacebark pine displays its patchwork bark
by Michelle Conners,
Curatorial Assistant
Morris Arboretum - 1/28/2010
Lace Bark Pine (Pinus Burgeana) at Morris Arboretum_Photo by Tony Aiello
Winter is a time to appreciate nature’s delicate and understated splendor. One of the most lovely plants to observe in the winter is Pinus bungeana or lacebark pine. Lacebark pine is found naturally in the mountains of northern China growing in full sun on steep, well-drained slopes. Typically, when it reaches two to three feet in height it develops multiple leaders arising from a single, short trunk. This attribute can be observed down in the Arboretum hoop houses where young plants, now two feet in height, are growing from seed wild-collected on a 1996 plant exploration trip to the Qinling Mountains of north central China. The needles are a shiny, dark green and occur in clusters of three. A rounded crown forms as the tree matures.
As it ages, the bark begins to exfoliate revealing a patchwork of whites, greens, and browns. Numerous sources compare it to the plane tree, but I think there is no comparison. The evergreen foliage, sparse branching, and peeling bark create a one-of-a-kind effect. Apparently the Chinese feel this way too, as the lacebark pine is one of the trees they have chosen for centuries to cultivate near Buddhist temples and cemeteries. Some of these trees are known to be close to a thousand years old.
The oldest lacebark pine at the Morris Arboretum dates to the Morris estate. If you are visiting the statues of Lydia and John in the Azalea Meadow, it is just around the bed on the right. If you are traveling along Stenton Avenue, you can see a stand of lacebark pines just over the Arboretum fence on Bloomfield Farm. For many years this stand was overwhelmed by honeysuckle and still remains partially shaded by neighboring trees, resulting in branching sparser than normal for the species, and placing the plants under stress. High up in one of these trees there is a witch’s broom, a dense growth of short twigs, that can result from stressful growing conditions. Witch’s brooms are frequently the source for new dwarf conifer cultivars and we currently have a lacebark pine in the dwarf conifer garden below the greenhouse complex that is the result of a grafting from this one. For several years, our arborists also climbed the tree to collect cones for sexual propagation. Shelley Dillard, Morris Arboretum Propagator, reports that we now have many seedlings growing in the medicinal house whose growth will be observed in the years to come for interesting characteristics for possible cultivar development.
It may be more than a decade before these seedlings put on a display or my own little pine rises to its name. But the lacebark pine is more than a pine for the patient; it is also one for the ages.
Find out more about Morris Arboretum and visit the oldest lacebark pine at http://www.greaterphiladelphiagardens.org/gardens/morris/morris.htm
Or telephone Morris Arboretum today at 215.247.5777