Pinus merkusii

Pinus merkusii, the Merkus pine or Sumatran pine, is a pine native to the Malesia region of southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia in the mountains of northern Sumatra, and with two outlying populations in central Sumatra on Mount Kerinci and Mount Talang, and in the Philippines on Mindoro and in the Zambales Mountains on western Luzon.

The population in central Sumatra, between 1° 40' and 2° 06' S latitude, is the only natural occurrence of any member of the Pinaceae south of the Equator. It generally occurs at moderate altitudes, mostly 400–1,500 metres (1,300–4,900 ft), but occasionally as low as 90 metres (300 ft) and up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).

Description

Pinus merkusii is a medium-sized to large tree, reaching 25–45 metres (82–148 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 metre (3.3 ft). The bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves ("needles") are in pairs, very slender, 15–20 cm long and less than 1 mm thick, green to yellowish green.