Siberian pine
Siberian pine (lat. Pinus sibirica) is an evergreen coniferous tree, to the name of which the word “cedar” is added, although it is united with real cedars only by belonging to the Pine family (Pinaceae).
Siberian cedar or Siberian cedar pine is a breadwinner for animals and people living in cold winters and short summers. Frosts harden the powerful tree, which has an enviable longevity.
What”s in your name
There are several versions of the origin of the Latin name of the genus of coniferous trees “Pinus”, which in Russian is called “Pine”. According to one of them, the name is based on the word “Pin”, which belonged to the ancient Celtic people, who knew a lot about the surrounding nature and actively used its gifts. They used the word “Pin” to refer to rocks, and since Pines love to settle on rocks, this is where their name came from.
According to another version, the basis of the name should still be sought in the Latin language, which has a pair of similar-sounding words with the meaning “resin.” Since the Pine tree is rich in aromatic resin, it was the resin that served as the basis for this name.
The adjective “Siberian” is clear without any translations, but the adjective “cedar” apparently reflects the power of the tree, akin to the power of the Lebanese cedars.
Description
“A grain fell into the ground. The little grass that has grown is not red, but look closely! Pine!” — this is how the birth of Pine is described somehow in a quatrain printed in one book for children.
That “blade of grass” is in no hurry to grow, slowly gaining strength and power. After all, its growing season is limited by the warm Siberian summer, but the plant has several hundred years of life ahead of it, unless earthly cataclysms interfere. By the way, in its slow growth, Siberian cedar differs from real cedars, which grow in warm climates and therefore have a much longer growing season and a rapid rise in height.
For good nutrition, nature has provided the pine with a short tap root, from which adventitious (lateral) roots branch, providing stability to the tree and giving shelter to fungi that form mycorrhiza, which helps the tree grow. This is such a natural community.
The powerful root system allows the gray-brown straight trunk of the tree to rise up to 40 meters in height, overgrown with thick powerful branches that form a dense coniferous crown. The needles are collected in groups of 5, creating soft green bunches covered with a bluish coating. The lifespan of needles is from three to seven years, which allows Siberian cedar to be green both in summer and winter.
Female and male cones live on the same tree, that is, Siberian pine pine is a monoecious plant. The Siberian wind helps the formation of nutritious pine nuts on the tree. And the continuation of the life of the Siberian pine in the taiga is facilitated by such animals as red-tailed squirrels, agile chipmunks and a bird that is popularly called “nutcracker” for its help to the tree.
Important cedar fishery
The Siberian cedar does not bear fruit every year, and therefore there are years that are productive and those that are not. A harvest year is a real holiday for people living within reach of the taiga.
Beginning in the 16th century, pine nuts were exported to Europe, where they were valued and loved. And in Russia itself, in all centuries, pine nuts have been a good help for people’s nutrition. Its value has not decreased, and, perhaps, has even increased today, when the taiga is retreating under the onslaught of “business” people who do not spare nature.
Pine nut products
* First of all, these are the nuts themselves, which have a lot of positive qualities and contain substances important for the human body.
* Cedar oil, unique in its chemical composition, which is not equal to any other vegetable oil, including the world-famous Provençal olive oil. Moreover, all these useful components are in the oil in a form that allows the human body to easily absorb their benefits.
* Cedar milk and cream — even the cake left over from processing nuts into butter is suitable for the production of cedar milk and cream, which can calm frayed nerves or replace cow”s milk.
