Flora of Gran Canaria — Canary Island Pine, Pinus canariensis

New shoots coming out of a thick scorched branch

Do you remember this line from Naked Gun 33⅓:

“We analyzed the wood fibers in the paper and found them to be from the rare Canary Island pine, which grows only in Oregon.”

Seriously! Does the Canary Island pine, Pinus canariensis, even grow in Oregon?! Yes it does. Just look at the map privided by the American Conifer Society website [1]. You can’t find this tree inland because it doesn’t tolerate frost.

P. canariensis is a large conifer tree, which can grow up to 60 m tall and 6.33 m girth [2]. It was considered to be a promising tree species for reforestation already one hundred years ago. Amusingly, Dr. G. V. Perez, the Canarian botanist,was reported to comment “on British wisdom in planting the tree extensively in South Africa, where it succeeds admirably, and in Australia and New Zealand where it is being tried” [3]. Thanks to said wisdom, in Australia and South Africa P. canariensis “has escaped cultivation and is actively invading” [1].

What makes this pine such a good tree for reforestation is its extraordinary ability to survive and recover following forest fires [4]. According to Climent et al. [5],

In P. canariensis, numerous traits can be related to fire resistance: thick bark, long needles, thick buds, tall growth habit, deep rooting, longevity and sprouting capability. <...> Sprouting capability of adult trees is one of the most striking characteristics of the Canary Islands pine <...> Within its natural range of distribution, sprouting is a general trait in P. canariensis and occurs exclusively after fire or other damage. Epicormic shoots with juvenile leaves appear in abundance after crown scorching by fire and allow the affected pine canopies to recover in just a few years.

Beautiful and sad — one week after the fire, young Canarian pines close to Degollada de Becerra.
The orange-colored scorched needles were still hanging on at that stage. By now the trees are completely naked.

New shoots on branches

And directly on the trunks

Nothing to do with the pine — but look how cheerful the fire site looks in April next year.
Burnt tree in the foreground is a sweet chestnut — probably no chance of recovery for this guy.

References

1. Pinus canariensis at American Conifer Society.
2. The thickest, tallest, and oldest Canary Island pines (Pinus canariensis) at Monumental Trees.
3. Hutchinson, J. (1918) Pinus canariensis. Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) 1918, No. 1, 1—3.
4. Fernandes, P.M., Vega, J.A., Jiménez, E. and Rigolot, E. (2008) Fire resistance of European pines. Forest Ecology and Management 256, 246—255.
5. Climent, J., Tapias, R., Pardos, J. and Gil, L. (2004) Fire adaptations in the Canary Islands pine (Pinus canariensis). Plant Ecology 171, 185—196.

All the research and text above — Kirill

Ever since I started hiking here I hear tales about amazing abilities of Canarian Pine to recover after fires. I could never quite believe it. When people were pointing out specimens which have been through a fire and are clearly still alive I thought — yeah, but that fire was small, surely. Now, half a year after the fire of 2017 I am finally beginning to believe :) — Tamara

More photos of Pinus canariensis @ Shutterstock.