Akamatsu (red pine) - Pinus densiflora; Japanese red pine

Japanese: アカマツ(赤松) - アカマツ（英語表記）Pinus densiflora; Japanese red pine

It is an evergreen tall tree of the pine family, and is one of the most representative species in Japan along with the Japanese black pine. It grows wild inland and on low mountains from the Oshima Peninsula in Hokkaido to Yakushima in Kyushu. It can reach a height of 30m, and its bark is reddish brown on the upper part and dark brown on the lower part, splitting like a tortoiseshell. Its leaves are about 7cm long and needle-like but soft, so it is also called the female pine in contrast to the male pine (Japanese black pine). It is monoecious, and produces several purple spike-like female flowers at the end of new branches in March and April. Each scale (called a seed scale) that makes up the spike (a small pine cone) produces two ovules. Many male flower spikes are produced at the bottom of the female flowers, and when they ripen, a large amount of yellow pollen is scattered. The fruits that mature more than a year after pollination are called cones, which are cone-shaped and about 5cm long and 3cm wide, and are known as pine cones. The seeds are egg-shaped, about 5mm long, and have long, thin wings. Its timber is widely used for construction, civil engineering, shipbuilding, etc. It is widely planted as a garden tree, and there are many horticultural varieties.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

マツ科の常緑高木で，クロマツとともに日本の代表的な種類。北海道の渡島半島から九州屋久島にかけて，内陸および低山に広く自生する。樹高 30mにも達し，樹皮は上部で赤褐色，下部は暗褐色で亀甲状に裂ける。葉は長さ 7cm内外，針状であるが軟らかいので雄松 (クロマツ) に対して雌松ともいわれる。雌雄同株，3～4月に新枝の先に数個の紫色の穂状の雌花を生じ，この花穂 (小さな松かさ) を構成する1枚ごとの鱗片 (種鱗という) には各2個の胚珠をつける。雌花の下部に多数の雄花穂をつけ，熟すると多量の黄色の花粉が飛散する。受粉後1年以上もかかって成熟した果実を球果といい，円錐形で長さ 5cm，幅 3cm内外，これがいわゆる松かさである。種子は卵形で長さ 5mmぐらい，細長い翼がある。材は建築用，土木用，造船用など広く利用される。庭木として広く植えられ，多数の園芸品種がある。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Akamatsu clan

>>: Akamata/Kuromata - Red/Black