Botanical Name:

Pinus parviflora

Common Name:

Japanese white pine

Family Name:

Pinaceae – pine family

General Description:

Pinus parviflora is an elegant evergreen tree that should be used more in the ornamental landscape. The soft, fine texture is similar to our native white pine (Pinus strobus) but it is actually better suited for landscape use as it is of smaller stature and is more tolerant of urban conditions than white pine. According to Missouri Botanical Garden, the typical form sold in the United States is glaucous or blue-needled with a wide variety of cultivars now included in Glauca Group. Japanese white pine is a favorite among many conifer specialists including Rich Eyre of Rich’s Foxwillow Pine, Woodstock IL. Rich has been touting the merits of this plant for decades and lists a wide variety of cultivars in his nursery catalog. College of DuPage now has several plantings of Pinus parviflora on campus.

Zone:

4-7

Resources Consulted:

Dirr, Michael A. Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses. Champaign: Stipes, 2009. Print.

Missouri Botanical Garden. Missouri Botanical Garden, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.

Creator:

Julia Fitzpatrick-Cooper, Professor, College of DuPage

Creation Date:

2014

Keywords/Tags:

Pinaceae, tree, conifer, cone, needle, evergreen, Pinus parviflora, Japanese white pine

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