It's a coniferous tree that everybody knows as "cedar." But such a name is wrong from the botanical point of view. The fact is that in the plant world there is a real cedar. It grows wild outside Russia and is completely different from the Siberian cedar, either externally or by structure. No peanuts will be formed on it.
But let's turn to Siberian pine. Its area of distribution is quite large. In wild form it grows mainly in Siberia, but is also found in the Urals, in the mountains of Southern Siberia, on the plains of Western Siberia. We are well acquainted with pine nuts. The kernel of nuts is not only very tasty, but also nutritious. It has a lot of fat and other useful substances.
Pine nuts are interesting from the botanical point of view.
Siberian pine seed is so large that all its parts are clearly visible to the naked eye. The seeds have two shells - thick outer, woody and inner thin, filmy. Underneath them there is a nut core. It is a stock of nutrients for the seedling that will appear from the seed. In the very center of the kernel is a small thin "stick". This is a very important part of the seed - the embryo. It is from this rod that a powerful coniferous tree subsequently grows.
When the seed begins to germinate, the embryo "sucks" the nutrients out of the nut core until the stem comes to the surface. Once in the light, the seedling turns green and goes on its own feeding. It has a rather thick stem, on top of which sits 10 needles-separate, directed in different directions and sickle-shaped curved.
Years and decades pass and a powerful tree grows out of a small weak plant. Siberian pine is one of our large trees. It reaches a height of 35-40 m and a diameter of 1.5 m.
Its crown is thick, dense, "fluffy", dark colored. Pine needles are not in pairs, but in bundles of five. Siberian cedar pine belongs to the group of five coniferous pines.
Siberian pine bark is thin. Such bark does not protect the tree from the bottom fire. Even adults, large trees are very sensitive to fire. The youngest trees suffer most. The thin bark makes Siberian pine very vulnerable to fire.
Unlike ordinary pine, the cedar tree is rather shady and grows well with spruce and fir. And it is very dark in the Siberian pine forest.
Siberian pine is unpretentious to the climate. It withstands very strong frosts well, is not afraid of spring frosts, sharp fluctuations in temperature. It is a tree of continental climate.
Both pines have a lot in common in terms of reproduction. This and the other spring young cones - male and female - appear on the young shoots. The pollen is carried by the wind, and it is formed very much. Getting on the female cones, pollen produces pollination. From the small cones subsequently grow adults, large cones, and they mature seeds.
However, Siberian pine cones are much larger and "shaggy" because the ends of the scales are bent aside. Siberian pine cones never "open", even at full maturity. Their scales are always pressed against each other. Mature cones fall to the ground entirely, along with the seeds.
Pine nuts are the favourite food of some animals and birds living in the forest. After mature buds have fallen to the ground, they are attacked by forest mice, squirrels, chipmunks, sable, pine trees, jayfish, etc. Some peanuts are eaten locally by four-legged and feathered consumers, while others are hidden and stored for the winter.
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