The Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), an evergreen tree with an irregular crown, produces pine cones that can remain on the tree for a couple of years or more. This tree is increasingly present in our Balearic landscape, taking advantage of fires and the abandonment of crops to spread. In 1972, two sub-varieties were discovered: the ‘Ceciliae’ pine and the ‘dwarf’ pine.
The ‘Ceciliae’ white pine is distinguished by a more elongated crown, with straighter branches that are closer to the trunk. This variety is considered an endemic species of Mallorca.
The “dwarf” white pine has much smaller cones and needles than a normal pine and grows more slowly. One example is the witch’s graft, a mutation that causes a branch to grow densely populated and dwarf.
This dwarfism is caused by infection with the phytoplasma “Phytoplasma pini”, transmitted by birds, mites or insects.
