Italian pine, also known as Pinia (Pinus pinea), is an evergreen coniferous tree that belongs to the Pine family and grows on the Mediterranean coast from the Iberian Peninsula to Asia Minor. Pine is famous for its nuts. Due to their wonderful taste, Italian pine was originally grown only in Spain and Portugal, and then began to be successfully cultivated throughout the world in places with a Mediterranean climate.

The Italian Pinia pine can grow up to 30 m in height. Of the many species of pine trees now growing around the globe, Pine is one of the most easily recognized. The Italian pine has a tall, slender trunk and a crown that wraps around the tree like an umbrella. IN Pinia has been cultivated in Europe for about 2000 years. The lifespan of a pine tree varies depending on the environment, but most often the pine tree grows for about 300-500 years.

Italian pine nuts have been eaten by various peoples for thousands of years. A well-known fact: Roman soldiers during the Roman Empire considered these nuts a delicacy and took them with them on long campaigns. Today, Italian pine nuts are widely used in French and especially Italian cuisine. They are added to pesto sauce, pastries and when cooking meat.

But in fact, these are not nuts, but rather the seeds of the Pinia pine. The seeds ripen in cones and take 3 years to fully ripen. Therefore, Italian pine seeds are highly valued. In Europe, in places with
In climates that are not warm enough, Pine is grown as an ornamental coniferous tree.

The crown of this beautiful coniferous tree is very dense, dark green in color and very compact. The needles, 8-15 cm long, are collected in small bunches, rather narrow and hard, green all year round. Although in some cases, under different weather conditions, the needles may have a bluish tint.

Cones most often grow singly, but they can also be found in groups of 2-3 pieces. The cones are spherical, rarely ovoid, about 10-15 cm long. Female cones are shiny, brown with wingless seeds, male cones are yellow, and during ripening they are light brown.

Italian pine prefers to grow in sandy soils with a humid climate, so they can be found in coast. Pine is a very beautiful coniferous tree, which is very often used for growing bonsai. The Etruscans also grew it to decorate individual areas, and it is still cultivated for landscaping gardens and parks, as it is resistant to adverse environmental conditions. Pinias are also able to adapt to grow in different types of soil.

Italian pine propagates by seeds, but successful germination requires stratification for 3 months. The seeds are soaked in warm water for a day, and then planted in sandy soil and put away in a cool place, or planted in open ground before winter. You should be especially careful with the seedlings, since the seedlings of Italian pine
does not tolerate transplantation well.

Like other relatives of the Italian pine from the Pinaceae family, Pinia is susceptible to diseases and attacks by pests. Damping off of needles, root rot, blister rust, sunburn, pine bark beetles, weevils, pine nematodes and other pests and diseases can lead to the death of Italian pine.

All types of pine trees are in high demand for commercial purposes, and Italian pine is no exception. Its raw materials are used to produce wood, rosin and turpentine. And the resin that regularly leaks from the tree trunk attracts insects. Archaeologists have found Pine resin from thousands of years ago and found inside it completely intact insects, preserved in perfect condition.

Perhaps in second place after nuts, Pine is valued for its delightful pine aroma, which can kill pathogenic bacteria. Pine oil and extracts are obtained from the needles, which are then used to treat many diseases and to prepare pine baths.

Pine nuts are the seeds of the Italian pine tree of the same name, which are located in cones. On the branches they are located in clusters of 1-3 pieces. The nuts ripen in the third year of cone growth in October, and by the beginning of spring all the seeds have fallen out. Therefore, the pine harvest begins in late October and early November.

The nuts have an oblong oval shape, dark brown in color with small light spots. The shell is much stronger than the shell of pine seeds, so they should be shelled manually using a nut cracker or industrially using a conveyor with closely spaced rollers.

On the sides of a ripe seed, edges are formed, usually three of them. They range in size from 1.5 to 1.7 cm. The nuts have a delicate texture and a resinous taste very similar to Siberian pine nuts. Pine nuts are considered the largest edible seeds among pine plants. The yield of mature trees is 3-8 tons of nuts per 1 hectare. Italian pine can live more than 500 years and still actively bear fruit.

Wild pine is widespread on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the Iberian Peninsula and Asia Minor. Pine is cultivated in the Caucasus and Crimea. The world's main exporters of pine nuts are: Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, Italy and Turkey.

The first mentions of the use of pine nuts have been preserved since the existence of the Roman Empire. Before tiring and long military campaigns, soldiers took nuts with them to satisfy mild hunger and restore strength. Avicenna was the first to describe the beneficial properties of pine in his book “The Canon of Medical Science.”

Selection and use

When purchasing pine seeds, you should pay attention to unshelled nuts. They can be stored for a long time without losing their properties. Shelled nuts cannot be stored for more than two weeks. After this time, the fats in the pine tree begin to oxidize and go rancid, and the fruits themselves absorb foreign odors. To prolong the freshness of shelled pine nuts, they should be stored in the freezer.

Pine nuts are widely used in Italian and French cuisines for the preparation of confectionery and classic sauces, and they are also used as a savory spice for red meat.

Nutritional value per 100 grams:

Beneficial properties of pine nuts

Composition and presence of nutrients

The vitamin and mineral composition of pine nuts includes vitamins: groups , , , minerals: phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, cobalt.

Pine nuts, like the nuts of other pine trees, contain large amounts of polyunsaturated fats.

Useful and healing properties

Nuts contain substances that help heal stomach ulcers and normalize the functioning of the stomach and intestines. Powdered nuts can be used to heal wounds. To do this, pour the powder into the wound and make a gauze bandage. The same dressing can be used to treat skin ulcers and burns with hot water or steam.

Eating whole peeled pine nuts has a diuretic effect, normalizes the functioning of the kidneys, liver, intestines, and also increases the potency and motility of sperm. Pine nuts are useful for chronic fatigue caused by active mental activity, low immunity, skin diseases, heart diseases, gallstones and allergies.

Healing tincture of pine nuts

If you prepare an alcohol infusion from whole, unpeeled pine seeds, you can get an excellent remedy for back pain caused by osteochondrosis. To do this, pine seeds (300 g) together with the shell should be crushed in a coffee grinder and pour boiled water (0.5 l) cooled to 50°C. The resulting infusion should be left to brew in a dark place for 4-5 days. After this time, it is necessary to add medical purified alcohol (0.5 l) to the container with the infusion and leave it to stand for another 3-4 weeks. The finished tincture should be filtered through cheesecloth and honey (200 g) added to it. Then pour everything into tightly closed dark glass bottles. You need to take 1 tbsp of the medicinal tincture throughout the day. l. before every meal. The tincture should be stored in a cool, dark place. Sometimes separation of pine tincture occurs. The nut oil rises to the top, and resinous substances precipitate. If this happens, the entire mixture should be shaken well before use to mix the components again.

Italian pine- or, pine. Coniferous evergreen plant of the Pine family.

origin of name

Pinia - comes from the Latin word “pinus”, which literally translates as “pine”, Italian - from the place of its original growth area, from Madera to the Black Sea coast.

Description

During its 400-500 years of life, pine grows up to 30-40 meters and its straight, even trunk is crowned with a crown in the form of a tent or a huge umbrella - this is the most recognizable pine. In mature trees, the branches grow almost horizontally; they contain needles, up to 12-15 cm long, collected in a bunch of two needles, bright green, which do not change color throughout the year. It gained its popularity not only for its decorative appearance, but, above all, for its fruits and nuts, which ripen in cones by the end of the third year. The cones, as a rule, grow one at a time, rarely 2-3 together, reach 15 cm and have an ellipsoidal or almost round shape. Inside the cones are seeds, which, after ripening, fall from the open cones in the spring, and the open cones themselves can remain on the tree for another 2-3 years. The seeds, up to 17 mm in size, are brown, edible and have been highly valued since ancient times, even when Roman legionnaires took these nutritious oblong-shaped seeds with them on the road. Pinia seeds - quills, are considered the largest among all coniferous plants, so they are 4 times larger than cedar seeds, and the yield is up to 8 tons per hectare of industrial plantings of Pinia, while 1 kg contains up to 1450-1500 seeds.

Reproduction

Pinia propagates by seeds. This is a very labor-intensive process, since the quills are first subjected to three months of stratification and then planted in specially prepared soil. Young seedlings are very delicate and whimsical, so they often die if they do not receive proper attention and care.

Growing conditions

Since the birthplace of its growth is the Mediterranean coast, it prefers sandy soils and the humid climate of the subtropics, but due to its hardiness and adaptability, it is able to grow on different soils, including dry limestone. Like all conifers, the tree is strong and resilient even in adulthood. Tolerates direct sunlight, moderate drought and short-term temperature drops to minus levels - -18oC. It is susceptible to diseases and pests, and therefore requires constant care and protection in industrial plantations. It grows well both in open ground in warm climates and in tubs outside in the summer in cooler climates, where it is brought indoors for the winter. In its youth it has a cone-shaped crown and is therefore considered a highly ornamental plant, recently used in greenhouses and winter gardens.

Application

It has been known in culture for more than 2000 years, it has been used by people since ancient times, as the Etruscans grew Pine in their gardens, now it is widely used in landscape design, and at a young age in the art of bonsai. Like any coniferous plant, it has many beneficial properties for humans. The most important thing is its seeds, which are eaten both raw and in culinary production, in particular in the preparation of pesto sauce, in Spanish and Italian cuisine when preparing meat and delicacies. The second most important thing is its aroma, which is exuded by the resin and bark of the tree, which is bactericidal and kills pathogenic bacteria. In Italy and Spain, industrial plantations are used to extract raw materials from which high-quality wood for the furniture industry, rosin, and turpentine are produced.

The well-known fairy tale by A. Tolstoy “Pinocchio” is a retelling of the Italian fairy tale about Pinocchio, who was made by Carlo from a pine log. In the episode where Karabas Barabas's beard sticks to a resinous tree, it is about Pinya, and the cones that Pinocchio threw at him were from this tree. The famous Italians Botticelli and Boccaccio depict and describe Pina in their artistic and literary works (Botticelli’s illustrations for Boccaccio’s “Decameron”).

Gymnosperms Vladislav Ivanovich Sivoglazov

Italian pine, or pine (Pinus pinea)

Pine is one of the most beautiful Mediterranean conifers. Its thick dark green crown is formed by long branches, usually extending in one direction. Rising above a strong trunk, such a crown resembles a sail. And because of this, the pine trees covering the mountain slopes and rocks hanging over the sea sometimes seem like sculptures of ancient sailing ships.

On the yellowish-brown bark of pine shoots you can see a peculiar complex pattern of intersecting lines. This pattern is left by traces of fallen pine needles. Dark green long (15 cm) shiny needles, growing on the branches in bunches of two, give the pine trees a special decorative appearance. The upper side of the pine needles, like those of Scots pine, is darker than the lower side.

Reproduction of Italian pine occurs in the same way as other types of pine trees. When the pollen sacs mature, the plants begin to become dusty. Pollen is carried by the wind and lands on the ovules. After fertilization, seeds begin to form on the scales of the cones. At the end of summer, cones appear. Usually they are single, but in some places there are two or even three. Italian pine seeds are edible. After the seeds fall out, the cones remain on the trees for another 2–3 years.

2. Siberian cedar pine Botanists count about 70 species of different pine trees. Siberian pine pine is one of the species that differs significantly from our common pine. The darker needles of the cedar pine are much thicker and longer. In addition, they do not sit

Italian work Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza began his career in Pavia while a medical student. He soon left medicine to devote himself to genetic research, first on bacteria and later on humans. At the university he studied under