Native to Mexico and Central America P. oocarpa has a geographic range of 3000 km from Sinaloa, Mexico to central Nicaragua and is the most common pine in the southern half of Mexico and Central America. It is a medium-to-large tree about 20 to 35 m in height and 45 to 80 cm d.b.h.
An estimated several hundred thousand hectares are planted in the tropics, primarily Brazil, as an exotic. Growers like its good wood quality, its ability to sprout from cut stumps and the ease with which its vegetatively propagates, as well as its usefulness in developing hybrids with other tropical and subtropical pines.
Source: W. S. Dvorak. Central America and Mexico Coniferous Resources Cooperative (CAMCORE) Department of Forestry, North Carolina State University. |