Austrian Pine

About Austrian Pine in Alberta

Austrian pine, also called black pine, is an introduced Eurasian conifer with no verified wild Alberta distribution. Alberta evidence currently supports a narrow but real planted-history interpretation: a historical Edmonton record lists Pinus nigra in the former Provincial Tree Nursery/CDC arboretum, but does not confirm that the tree remains alive or that the species is common in the province. For ARA, a suspected Austrian pine should be treated as a potentially notable planted or institutional specimen only after field identification and site history are checked. Its best field package is a dense dark crown, long stiff paired needles, dark plated bark, and short ovoid cones.

Identification: Needles are evergreen and occur in bundles of two. They are dark green, relatively long for a two-needle pine, stiff to somewhat flexible, sharply pointed, and commonly about 8-15 cm long in cultivated trees. The long dark paired needles create a heavier and coarser foliage texture than Scots pine.

Alberta range and habitat: No native, wild, or naturalized Alberta distribution was verified. Treat Austrian pine as planted in Alberta unless a future source documents otherwise.