English: Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis Mill., 1768) from the genus Pine (Pinus L., 1753) of the family Pine (Pinaceae Lindley, 1836)

Pinus halepensis, commonly known as the Aleppo pine or the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. It is a small to medium-sized tree, 49–82 feet tall, with a trunk diameter up to 24 inches, exceptionally up to 3 ft 3 in. The bark is orange-red, thick, and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, and thin and flaky in the upper crown. The leaves ('needles') are very slender, 21⁄4 – 43⁄4 in long, distinctly yellowish green, and produced in pairs (rarely a few in threes). The cones are narrow conic, 2– 43⁄4 in long and 3⁄4 – 11⁄4 in broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old. They open slowly over the next few years, a process quickened if they are exposed to heat such as in forest fires. The cones open 5–8 cm (2– 31⁄4 in) wide to allow the seeds to disperse. The seeds are 3⁄16 – 1⁄4 in long, with a 13⁄16 in wing, and are wind- dispersed. The Aleppo pine is closely related to the Turkish pine, Canary Island pine, and maritime pine, which all share many of its characteristics. Some authors include the Turkish pine as a subspecies of the Aleppo pine, as Pinus halepensis subsp. brutia (Ten.) Holmboe, but it is usually regarded as a distinct species. It is a relatively nonvariable species, in that its morphological characteristics stay constant over the entire range.

The native range of Pinus halepensis extends from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Spain north to southern France, Malta, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania, and east to Greece. It has been introduced into many parts of the world, including Portugal. There is an outlying population (from which it was first described) in Syria, Lebanon, southern Turkey, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. The species is generally found at low altitudes, mostly from sea level to 660 ft, but can grow above 3,300 ft in southern and eastern Spain, well over 3,900 ft on Crete, and up to 5,600 ft in the south, in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The tree is able to quickly colonize open and disturbed areas. It is classed as an invasive species in South Africa.

English: Aleppo pine in Hierapolis-Pamukkale, Turkey