Pinus caribaea

Taxonomy and nomenclature 

Family: Pinaceae 

Varieties: Pinus caribaea var. bahamensis (Griseb.) 

W.H.G. Barrett & Golfari, P. caribaea var. caribaea, 

P. caribaea var. hondurensis (Sénéclauze) W.H.G. 

Barrett & Golfari. 

Synonyms: Pinus taeda var. heterophylla Elliott, P. 

recurvata Rowlee. 

Vernacular/common names: Caribbean pine, pitch 

pine (Eng.); pino de la costa, ocote blanco, pino 

caribe, pino caribeño de Honduras (Sp.); pin jaune, 

pin mate (Fr.); karibische kiefer (Germ.); Honduran 

yellow pine (trade name). 

Distribution and habitat 

Native to Central America and the Caribbean, widely 

planted throughout the American, Asian and African 

tropics and subtropics. P. caribaea var. caribaea is 

confined to Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud, P. 

caribaea var. bahamensis is indigenous to certain islands 

of the Bahamas and the Caicos groups and P. 

caribaea var. hondurensis can be found in the eastern 

half of Central America south-east from the Yucatán 

peninsula. 

Grows best in frost-free areas up to 700 m altitude 

on more fertile sites with good drainage and annual 

rainfall of 1000 - 3000 mm. 

1, mature male strobili; 2, female strobili at receptive stage; 

3, female strobili two months old; 4, mature cones; 5, cone 

scales; 6, seeds. From: Robbins, 1994. 

SEED LEAFLET 

No. 40 September 2000 

Pinus caribaea Morelet 

Danida Forest Seed Centre 

Uses 

Used for fuel, pulpwood, timber, resin and land reclamation. 

Botanical description 

Tree up to 45 m tall and 1 m in diameter, with conical 

and irregular crown. Bark is grey on young trees, later 

dark and with fissures. Needles in fascicles of 3-5 at 

the ends of twigs, mostly 15-25 cm long, up to 1.5 

mm broad, slightly toothed, with whitish lines. The 

needles remain attached for 2 years. 

Strobili appear before the new leaves; male strobili 

in clusters, mostly in the lower part of crown; female 

strobili 2-5 together, mostly in the upper part of the 

crown. 

Fruit and seed description 

Seed about twice as long as broad, triangular and 

pointed at the ends. On average less that 6 mm long, 3 

mm broad and black to grey or brown. The membranous 

wing is up to 20 mm long, sometimes fused with 

the seed coat but becoming detached when moistened. 

There are 35-40 seeds per cone. and 59,000- 

72,000 dewinged seeds/kg, depending on the variety. 

Flowering and fruiting habit 

The cones mature at the onset of the rainy season but 

there is often variation between trees and stands. In 

general, cones tend to mature during the same period, 

despite variation in flowering times. Seed production 

in exotic plantations is often poor due to either cool 

temperatures preventing the formation of flowers or 

humid conditions during flowering preventing pollination. 

When the tree is 3-4 years old, it begins to produce 

female cones but seed setting is low unless there are 

mature pollinating trees close by. 

Harvest 

The cones are mature when: 1. more than half of the 

cone has turned brown, 2. when cut in two, the cone 

axis is dark brown, 3. the apex of the cone feels firm 

when pressed with the thumb 4. the seed coat is darkening 

in colour and 5. the inside of the seed is white 

and firm and filling the cavity. 

Collection is done directly from the tree. Care must 

be taken not to break the fragile branchlets as this can 

seriously reduce crop size for several years. Once the

cones have become brown and are still moist, the 

scales may start to open and pregermination occur. A 

cutting test will reveal this. 

Processing and handling 

After harvest the cones should not be left in sacks for 

more than 1-2 days and always in a cool, dry and 

properly ventilated place. Before drying, the cones 

are precured on trays with wire mesh, under shade, 

until the cone has turned completely brown (5-10 

days). After precuring, the cones open relatively easily 

and sun drying is normally adequate, provided the 

climate is not too humid. 

When the seeds have been extracted they are 

dewinged and cleaned and then dried in the sun on a 

sheet and raked frequently. The seeds will lose about 

1-1.5 % moisture per hour. Cleaning the seed before 

sowing to eliminate empty and dead seed can 

improve germination considerably. 

Storage and viability 

The seed is orthodox and can be stored at temperatures 

below 0°C. At 6-8% mc and 3-4° C in airtight 

containers, the seed can be stored for at least 5 years 

with little loss in viability. At room temperature, few 

seeds will survive one year of storage. As long as the 

seed is kept dry and cool, fumigation and application 

of fungicides are not necessary and may be harmful. 

Dormancy and pretreatment 

The seeds are not dormant, but in some places it is 

practice to soak the seeds in clean water for 12 hours 

followed by 2-3 days cold stratification at 4-5°C to 

obtain a more uniform germination. 

Sowing and germination 

Germination normally begins seven days after sowing 

and after 12-15 days reaches some 80%. The seeds can 

be sown directly in plastic bags with 1-2 seeds per bag, 

or in germination trays from where they are transplanted 

into bags when they are 3-4 cm long. 

Mycorrhiza is necessary for the sapling growth, and 

soil taken near established trees should be added. Suitable 

sowing medium is sand:forest soil in a 3:1 ratio. If 

the seedbeds are covered with mulch, it reduces the 

risk of fungi. 

Phytosanitary problems 

Cones that are inadequately stored are easily susceptible 

to infestation by fungal moulds, which may 

cause problems during germination. Infestation by 

pathogenic fungi may also happen especially in seed 

from high rainfall areas. 

Selected readings 

Birks, J.S., Barnes, R.D., 1990. Provenance variation in 

Pinus caribaea, P. oocarpa and P. patula ssp. tecunumanii. 

Tropical Forestry Papers, No. 21. Oxford Forestry Institute, 

University of Oxford. 

CATIE 1991. Pino Caribe, Pinus caribaea, Especies de 

árbol de uso múltiple en América Central. Turrialba 

(C:R:). Coleccíon guías silviculturales no. 8, 59 pp. 

Dvorak, W.S., Ross, K.D., Liu, Y., 1993. Performance of 

Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis in Brazil, Colombia and 

Venezuela. CAMCORE Bulletin on Tropical Forestry, No. 

11, 47 pp. 

Lamb, A.F.A., 1973. Fast growing timber trees of the lowland 

tropics. No. 6. Pinus caribaea, vol. 1. Commonwealth 

Forestry Institute, 254 pp. 

Napier, I.A. & Willan, R.L. 1983. Nursery Techniques for 

Tropical and Subtropical Pines. DFSC Tecnical Note No. 4. 

Soerianegara, I., Lemmens, R.H.M.J., eds., 1993. Plant 

Resources of South-East Asia No. 5(1). Timber trees: major 

commercial timbers. Wageningen, Netherlands: Pudoc Scientific 

Publishers. 610 pp. 

Robbins, A.M.J. 1994. Pinus caribaea. Seed Leaflet No. 

2. DFSC 

P. caribaea var. hondurensis. Alamikamba, Nicaragua. 

Photo: E.A. Gutierrez, CAMCORE. 

THIS NOTE WAS PREPARED IN COLLABORATION 

WITH CENTRO AGRONÓMICO TROPICAL DE 

INVESTIGACIÓN Y ENSEÑANZA 

Authors: Rodolfo Salazar, CATIE 

Dorthe Jøker, DFSC 

Danida Forest Seed Centre Phone: +45-49190500 

Krogerupvej 21 Fax: +45-49160258 

DK-3050 Humlebaek Email: dfsc@sns.dk 

Denmark Website: www.dfsc.dk

Pinus caribaea

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