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The umbrella pines of Rome, inspiration for Respighi’s haunting, “Pines of Rome”.


Evergreens worth traveling the world to see


Story and photos by Michael Allen I


t is the rare person who does not like to be among mature conifer trees. Conifers are the name tree people give to trees that are both evergreen (for the most part) and that


bear seeds in specialized cones that open when mature. They are part of the Gymnosperm classification of trees. In our part of the world, larch and tamarack are the exceptions as they a lose their needles each fall just like deciduous oak, elm and maple trees.


Walking among giants I seek out interesting conifers around the world and I have


personally encountered many during my travels. At the top of my list are the most magnificent of world conifers, the Giant Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) and Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) that are found in very limited areas of the American western forests. The oldest giant sequoias have been found to be about


3,500 years old while the oldest redwoods are up to 2,000 years old. I spent two days with the giant sequoias. For me, no other experience on earth can match the thrill and rever- ence of walking among these giants. Presently the tallest giant sequoia is the General Sherman tree at 275 feet in height.


Under the umbrella 20


The umbrella pines (Pinus pinea) of southern Europe are WINTER 2013


fascinating trees. From a distance, their umbrella-shaped crowns


look like dark green deciduous shade trees. The


Italian composer, Ottorino Respighi, paid tribute to these umbrella-shaped pines in his musical composition called The Pines of Rome. This pine is totally compatible with growing along large


city streets, crowded with exhaust producing vehicles espe- cially in a vast metropolitan city like Rome.


Out of the rocks In the eastern regions of the Mediterranean, parts of Italy


and the Middle East (especially in Turkey) is the native range of a pine species that was valued by the ancient Greeks, Romans and people of the Ottoman Empire. It is called Turkish or Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia). It seems to grow on elevated rocky hills virtually devoid of


mineral soils. The ancient trees in the image shown here are believed to be over 200 years old are on the grounds of the ancient Greek Temple of Trajan near Pergamon, Turkey.


Salty, sandy pines The rarest and most endangered pines in North America


are the Torrey pines (Pinus torreyana) of California. There are two locations, the main one in Torrey Pines State Preserve in the north isolated region of San Diego with a total of about 5,000 trees and the other on Santa Rosa Island off the


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