The most common Pinus species found on campus is the Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), followed by the Mondel or Afghan pine (Pinus eldarica). Pictures of both these types can be found below.


(Left)Pinus halepensis (Right)Pinus eldarica

When both of these trees are very young, only between 2 and 10 years old, they look remarkably similar. Not only do they each have two needles per fascicle and 2 to 5 inch long needles, but at this early age they both have a Christmas tree type appearance. It is only after they reach full maturity that the shape of the halepensis changes, creating many different structural canopy shapes, and classification becomes easier. The picture of the halepensis above is an example of a mature tree. Pinus eldarica maintains a Christmas tree structure after maturity, as seen in the photo above.

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