Merkus Pine

Description

Pinus merkusii is a medium-sized to large tree, reaching 25-45 metres (82-148 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 metre (3.3 ft). The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves ("needles") are in pairs, very slender, 15-20 cm long and less than 1 mm thick, green to yellowish green. The cones are narrow conic, 5-8 cm long and 2 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown. They open to 4-5 cm broad at maturity to release the seeds. The seeds are 5-6 mm long, with a 15-20 mm wing, and are wind-dispersed.