Japanese White Pine

The Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora) is a pine in the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, native to Japan. It is also known as the Japanese five-needle pine (Pinus pentaphylla).

It is a coniferous evergreen tree, growing to 15–25 m in height and is usually as broad as it is tall, forming a wide, dense, conical crown. The leaves are needle-like, in bundles of five, with a length of 5–6 cm. The cones are 4–7 cm long, with broad, rounded scales; the seeds are 8–11 mm long, with a vestigial 2–10 mm wing.

This is a popular tree for bonsai, and is also grown as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. The 'Adcock's dwarf' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Famous quotes containing the words japanese, white and/or pine:

    The Japanese say, “If the flower is to be beautiful, it must be cultivated.”
    Lester Cole, U.S. screenwriter, Nathaniel Curtis, and Frank Lloyd. Nick Condon (James Cagney)

    No more the white refulgent streets,
    Never the dry hollows of the mind
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    Allen Tate (1899–1979)

    Think how stood the white pine tree on the shore of the Chesuncook, its branches soughing with the four winds, and every individual needle trembling in the sunlight,—think how it stands with it now,—sold, perchance, to the New England Friction-Match Company!
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)