Mountain Pine

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Mountain Pine
Foliage and cones of Mountain Pine
Foliage and cones of Mountain Pine
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: Pinus
Species: P. mugo
Binomial name
Pinus mugo
Turra
For the town in the southern United States, see Mountain Pine, Arkansas.

Mountain Pine or Mugo Pine (Pinus mugo) is a high-altitude European pine, found in the Pyrenees, Alps, Erzgebirge, Carpathians, northern Apennines and Balkan Peninsula mountains from (mostly) 1,000 m to 2,200 m, occasionally as low as 200 m in the north of the range in Germany and Poland, and as high as 2,700 m in the south of the range in Bulgaria.

There are two subspecies:

  • Pinus mugo subsp. mugo in the east and south of the range (southern & eastern Alps, Balkan peninsula), a low, shrubby, often multi-stemmed plant to 3-6 m tall with symmetrical cones.
  • Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata in the west and north of the range (Pyrenees northeast to Poland), a larger, usually single-stemmed tree to 20 m tall with asymmetrical cones (the scales are much thicker on one side of the cone than the other). The two subspecies intergrade extensively (hybrid subspecies rotundata) in the western Alps and northern Carpathians. Some botanists treat the western subspecies as a separate species, Pinus uncinata, others as only a variety, Pinus mugo var. rostrata.
Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata at 2,200 m in the Néouvielle massif, France.
Pinus mugo subsp. uncinata at 2,200 m in the Néouvielle massif, France.

Both subspecies have similar foliage, with dark green leaves ('needles') in pairs, 3-7 cm long. The cones are nut-brown, 2.5-5.5 cm long, symmetrical, thin-scaled and matt texture in subsp. mugo, asymmetrical with thick scales on the upper side of the cone, thin on the lower side, and glossy, in subsp. uncinata.

The species is highly valued in horticulture, particularly the smaller subsp. mugo. Mountain pines, especially subsp. mugo, are often used by homeowners and landscape architects for home security purposes. The needles deter unauthorised persons from entering private properties, and may prevent break-ins if planted under windows and near drainpipes. The aesthetic characteristics of mountain pines, in conjunction with their home security qualities, makes them a considerable alternative to artificial fences and walls.

An old name for the species Pinus montana is still occasionally seen, and a typographical error "mugho" (first made in a prominent 18th century encyclopedia) is still repeated surprisingly often.

Pinus mugo subsp. mugo in Romania

Pinus mugo from Longwood Gardens

Pinus mugo 'Valley Cushion' at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

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