Pinus pumila

The Siberian dwarf pine is a coniferous evergreen shrub ranging from 1–3 metres (3–10 feet) in height, exceptionally up to 5 m (16 ft), but may have individual branches that extend further along the ground in length. In the mountains of northern Japan, it sometimes hybridizes with the related Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora); these hybrids (Pinus × hakkodensis) are larger than P. pumila, reaching 8–10 m (26–33 ft) tall on occasion.^{[citation needed]}

The leaves are needle-like, formed in bundles of five and are 4–6 centimeters long. The cones are 2.5–4.5cm long, with large nut-like seeds (pine nuts).^[5]

• 
  Habit
• 
  Young seed cones
• 
  Male cones

The range covers the Far East, Eastern Siberia, north-east of Mongolia, north-east of China, northern Japan and Korea.^[3] Siberian dwarf pine can be found along mountain chains, above the tree line, where it forms dense, uninterrupted thickets; it also grows on the headlands above the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, Tatarsk and Pacific coast (the Kurils).^{[citation needed]}

P. pumila grows very slowly. It can live up to 300 and, in some instances, 1,000 years.^[6]

The seeds are harvested and dispersed by the spotted nutcracker (Nucifraga caryocatactes).

• 
  In its natural habitat, eastern Siberia

P. pumila has highly flammable needles, branches, and cones and readily carries crown fires, especially where it grows continuously across local landscapes.^[7] It has serotinous cones that release seeds following fire^[8] facilitating its recovery following severe fires caused by lightning strikes and other causes.^[7][9]

This plant is grown as an ornamental shrub in parks and gardens. The cultivar P. pumila 'Glauca' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[10]

• Pinus pumila × P. sibirica