Pinus merkusii Jungh. & de Vriese

Tree Size

Pinus merkusii Jungh. & de Vriese is a medium-sized to large tree, growing 25 to 45 metres (82 to 148 feet) tall, with a trunk diameter reaching up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in).

Bark Characteristics

Its bark is orange-red, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown.

Needle Morphology

The leaves, called needles, grow in pairs; they are very slender, 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches) long and less than 1 millimetre (1⁄32 in) thick, and range in color from green to yellowish green.

Cone Shape and Closed Dimensions

The cones are narrow conic, 5 to 8 cm (2 to 3+1⁄4 in) long and 2 cm (3⁄4 in) wide at the base when closed.

Cone Color Development

They are green when young, and ripen to a glossy red-brown.

Cone Maturation and Seed Release

When the cones reach maturity, they open to 4 to 5 cm broad to release their seeds.

Seed Characteristics and Dispersal

The seeds are 5 to 6 mm (3⁄16 to 1⁄4 in) long, with a 15 to 20 mm (1⁄2 to 3⁄4 in) wing, and are dispersed by wind.

Primary Distribution Range

Pinus merkusii is found mainly in the mountains of northern Sumatra, Indonesia.

Outlying Populations

It also has two outlying populations: one in central Sumatra on Mount Kerinci and Mount Talang, and another in the Philippines on Mindoro and in the Zambales Mountains on western Luzon.

Mainland Southeast Asia Populations

Isolated populations also grow in Mainland Southeast Asia, including Kirirom National Park in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, and Bidoup Núi Bà National Park on the Đà Lạt Plateau in Vietnam.

Equatorial Distribution Note

The central Sumatra population, located between 1° 40' and 2° 06' S latitude, is the only natural occurrence of any member of the Pinaceae family that grows south of the Equator.

Altitudinal Range

This species is generally found at moderate altitudes, mostly between 400 and 1,500 m (1,300 to 4,900 ft), but it can occasionally grow as low as 90 m (300 ft) and as high as 2,000 m (6,600 ft).