Pinus dalatensis, also known as Vietnamese white pine or Dalat pine,[1] is a species of pine endemic to Indochina. In Vietnam it grows in the mountains of the central and south-central parts of the country at elevations of 1,400 to 2,300 metres (4,600 to 7,500 ft).[3][4] Only recently confirmed from Laos, the population located within the Nakai-Nam Theun Biodiversity Conservation Area is the largest, at the lowest elevation, and the northernmost of the known populations of P. dalatensis.[5]
Pinus dalatensis is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 30 to 40 metres (98 to 131 ft) tall. It is a member of the white pine group, Pinus subgenus Strobus, and like all members of that group, the leaves ('needles') are in fascicles (bundles) of five, with a deciduous sheath. The needles are finely serrated, and (3-)5–14 cm long.
The cones are slender, 6 to 23 centimetres (2.4 to 9.1 in) long and 2 to 4 centimetres (0.79 to 1.57 in) broad (closed), opening to 3 to 9 centimetres (1.2 to 3.5 in) broad; the scales are thin and flexible. The seeds are small, 6 to 8 millimetres (0.24 to 0.31 in) long, and have a long slender wing 18 to 25 millimetres (0.71 to 0.98 in) long. It is most closely related to the blue pine Pinus wallichiana from the Himalaya.[3][4]
It is divided into two subspecies:[3]
Pinus dalatensis, also known as Vietnamese white pine or Dalat pine, is a species of pine endemic to Indochina. In Vietnam it grows in the mountains of the central and south-central parts of the country at elevations of 1,400 to 2,300 metres (4,600 to 7,500 ft). Only recently confirmed from Laos, the population located within the Nakai-Nam Theun Biodiversity Conservation Area is the largest, at the lowest elevation, and the northernmost of the known populations of P. dalatensis.
