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:
“I am a lantern—
My head a moon
Of Japanese paper, my gold beaten skin
Infinitely delicate and infinitely expensive.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)
“When cats run home and light is come,
And dew is cold upon the ground,
And the far-off stream is dumb,
And the whirring sail goes round,
And the whirring sail goes round;
Alone and warming his five wits,
The white owl in the belfry sits.”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“God took pattern after a pine tree and built you noble.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)